'My dad died that night' - Birmingham pub bombings remembered at Irish immigration exhibition

It was the night that changed his family forever.

He was only seven years-old at the time - but Birmingham-born Maurice Malone understood only too well the devastating effects of the aftermath of the pub bombings that horrified the world.

His dad was an Irish immigrant and he lost his job at a city factory - along with several of his friends who had also moved to Birmingham from Ireland. That wasn’t all. Maurice, who is now the chief executive of Birmingham Irish Association, says the men were also attacked by colleagues at the plant.

"Everyone who wasn't Irish who he worked with became enemies overnight - best of friends were now fighting with each other," he says in an oral history exhibition currently visiting Millennium Point until Sunday, November 26.

You can hear Maurice telling how he saw marks on his father’s face. But his dad did not want to tell him what had happened and said he had had an accident. He did not go back to work.

"A lot of people were murdered and injured that night but my dad died that night as well, but he just didn't know it," Mr Malone added. "His life after that just dipped, absolutely. Dad lost his job, lost his income, lost a network of friends... and turned to the drink and everything went downhill from there."

He said his father had never recovered from the hatred and the shame, adding that "the community finished that night". Maurice’s family were not the only innocent members of the Irish community facing a backlash against the pub bombings as the families of the dead mourned their lost ones.

And this abuse was not confined to terrorism. There were a myriad of complex issues Irish people have faced over the past half a century - both those emigrating to the UK and those who were born of Irish descent.

The Look Back to Look Forward: 50 Years of the Irish in Britain offers a moving perspective into diaspora since the 1970s and the work of the membership organisation which campaigns and advocates for the Irish community on a range issues – from welfare reforms  to dementia services. Funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund the exhibition is full of inspiration and heart-braking stories, films and oral accounts.

From the construction worker who stepped  onto English soil speaking only Irish,  to the woman who had no choice but to  leave the institutional Ireland she grew up with, and another who helped organise lesbian and gay ceilidhs when she moved to Britain.  

The exhibition also features contributions from notable Irish cultural figures, actors Siobhán McSweeney, Adrian Dunbar and Aisling Bea, broadcaster Terry Christian,  musician Jah Wobble and Moth Poetry Prize Winner Laurie Bolger, who has  composed a bespoke poem. 

There is also an oral account from Breda Power, the daughter of one of the falsely accused Birmingham Six. She describes growing up in London where she avoided talking about her father, who only a few friends knew was Billy Power.

He and five others had been wrongly jailed for the pub bombings - one of Britian’s biggest miscarriages of justice. “People, even to this day, say, ‘You were always very private. You didn’t say too much about … anything,’” she says. “But [I] was just avoiding conversations in general,” she tells in her oral account.

It’s a poignant story as Birmingham marks the 49th anniversary of the pub bombings. Maurice is one of the key people who helped to erect a memorial to the 21 victims of the 1974 explosions outside New Street train station.

A service was held in their memory at Birmingham Cathedral on Tuesday (November 21) - the 49th anniversary of the atrocity as the families of the 21 victims continue to fight for justice.

The IRA attacks took place at The Mulberry Bush, which was next to the Rotunda, and Tavern in the Town, which is on New Street, further along from the Odeon cinema. Campaign group Justice4the21 continue to fight for the victims who died on that night. 

Julie Hambleton and her brother, Brian, lost their 18-year-old sister Maxine in the bombings. Julie said: "People across the world can't understand that if the Government can give statutory public inquiries, quite rightly to Grenfell, Hillsborough, the Manchester Arena Bombing. If they can all have one, then where is ours?" Julie continued: "It has left its mark on the city and we will continue until justice is seen to be done."

How can I see the exhibition Look Back to Look Forward: 50 Years of the Irish in Britain

You can see the free exhibition at Birmingham Science Museum at Millennium Point until Sunday, November 26. Here are the opening hours:

• Wednesday 11am-6pm 
• Thursday 11am-7pm 
• Friday 11am-6pm 
• Saturday 11am-6pm 
• Sunday 11am-5pm

Birmingham is the last stop for the November tour. But it may continue as it has been so well received. The exhibition  will be deposited for permanent public access  at The Archive of the Irish in Britain at London Metropolitan University. 

Irish in Britain’s CEO Brian Dalton: “There has never been a more important time to  celebrate our unique history. With the invaluable help of countless volunteers and our  member organisations, we have faithfully captured the stories and individual histories  that have shaped the last 50 years of the Irish in Britain, creating a research and  educational legacy for generations to come.” 

Look Back to Look Forward’s Project Manager, Dr Susan Cahill: “This project is a  testament to the passion and real hunger within the Irish community to share and  preserve stories that will resonate within all migrant communities.”