A plan to build a 13-acre Irish heritage centre in Manchester was given a u£1 million boost by the National Millennium Committee yesterday, when its chairman, ail Chief Whip, Minister of State Mr Seamus Brennan, announced the award.
The Irish World Heritage Centre is the u£14 million sterling vision of the Irish community in Manchester and will celebrate the contribution made by Irish emigrants around the world to Ireland in a museum. The centre will also be used as a community venue for the Irish and other ethnic groups in Manchester. Work on the site is expected to begin later this year and the centre is due to open at the end of 2001.