International Brigade Memorial Trust
The IBMT's 2025 Annual General Meeting will be held in Belfast on Saturday 4 October as part of a weekend of commemorative and social activities from 3-5 October.
PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME
Friday 3 October
5.30pm: Arrive early at Belfast City Hall, Donegal Square North, Belfast BT1 5GS to see the famous stained-glass window dedicated to the International Brigades.
5.45pm: Drinks reception provided by the Belfast City Council.
6.30pm: Opening of AGM weekend, hosted by Deputy Lord Mayor Paul Doherty, with contributions from International Brigade family members and international and trade union speakers and music from Cairde Community Choir and Brenda O’Riordan.
8.45pm: Buffet upstairs in the Fountain Lane Bar, 16 Fountain Street, Belfast BT1 5ED (4-minute walk from City Hall). 8.50 per buffet.
Saturday 4 October
10.30am: Meet at City Hall for a bus tour taking in Shankill Road Library to see the International Brigade plaque and posters, Milltown Cemetery to see the gravestone of Jim Straney and the Falls Road to see the murals.
1.15pm: Lunch provided by Unite the Union, 26-34 Antrim Road, Belfast BT15 2AA. The bus tour group will take people there. Otherwise a15-minute bus ride – any bus number 1a/e/f/g/j/etc, but not 1d or 1k – from outside M&S in Donegall Place. Check with driver that it goes via Carlisle Circus. Get off at the first stop after Carlisle Circus at the bottom of the Antrim Road.
2.30pm-4pm: IBMT Annual General Meeting at the Unite office (address above). All welcome, but only IBMT members may speak and vote.
5pm-7pm: Optional visit to Seatons of Sailortown bar, Dock Street, Belfast BT15 1LF. Close to the Dockers Club and 22 minutes away on foot or by bus – any number 1 bus to M&S, Donegall Place and from there a bus number 2j, getting off at Pilot Street.
7pm until late: Dockers Club, Pilot Street, Belfast BT1 3AH for a concert and social.
Sunday 5 October
11am: Gathering at the International Brigade memorial at Writer’s Square, Donegall Street, Belfast BT1 1DL.
11.30am: Irish Congress of Trade Unions, 45-47 Donegall Street, Belfast BT1 2FN for the launch of a booklet on the International Brigade Commemoration Committee, ‘20 Years of Action’, and a light buffet lunch.
1pm: Retire to The John Hewitt pub, 51 Donegall Street, Belfast BT1 2FH, where there is a memorial to the International Brigades.
REGISTRATION AND PAYMENT
Registration and payment are essential because the City Hall, caterers and bus tour need to know numbers. The following charges per person will apply:
Friday buffet: £8.50
Saturday bus tour: £10 deposit (refundable if not enough people apply)
Saturday lunch: registration needed for numbers
Saturday concert: £4 (unwaged) £8 (waged)
Sunday lunch: registration needed for numbers
If you plan to attend all events, you can pay online via Eventbrite: https://ibmt_agm_2025.eventbrite.co.uk/. The total ticket price is £23.10 (unwaged) and £27.10 (waged), which includes the Eventbrite processing fee.
Please note that if you book an earlier waged/unwaged ticket, you will be contacted.
If you plan to attend only certain events, send your payment direct to the hosts, the Belfast-based International Brigade Commemoration Committee: Ulster Bank Account no. 18745513 / Sort code 98 00 60. You must also email the IBCC to indicate which events from the above list you will be attending.
AGM BUSINESS
Agenda
Proposals for agenda items under ‘Any Other Business’ must be received in writing by the Secretary (see email below) by 8am on 27 September. A final agenda will be published on the IBMT website soon afterwards.
Provisional agenda
1. Chair’s opening remarks
2. Approval of the minutes of the 2024 AGM
3. Matters arising from the minutes not otherwise on the agenda
4. Executive Committee’s annual report
5. Finance report, including 2024-2025 accounts
6. Election of two scrutineers
7. Election of five Executive Committee members (see below)
8. Date and place of 2026 AGM
9. Any Other Business (previously notified)
10. Scrutineers’ report of election results
11. Chair’s closing remarks
Notice of nominations
Nominations are invited for candidates to fill five vacancies on the Executive Committee. If necessary, a ballot will be held among members attending the AGM to elect the EC members. Four vacancies arise because Mike Arnott, Megan Dobney, Jim Jump and David McKnight will have completed their terms of office by the AGM and they will therefore step down and an election, in which they are permitted to stand, along with other IBMT members, will take place. A fifth vacancy has been carried over from last year. All IBMT members may nominate fellow members to serve on the EC. Nominations must be made in writing and received by the Secretary by 8am on 20 September. The names of the candidates will be published on the IBMT website in advance of the AGM.
Send nominations and proposed agenda items by email (these will be acknowledged) to: secretary@international-brigades.org.uk or by post to: IBMT Secretary, 37a Clerkenwell Green, London EC1R 0DU.
Nominations accepted
The following members have been nominated in accordance with the above procedure and have accepted nomination to serve on the Executive Committee. Their names will now go forward to the AGM.
Mike Arnott
Megan Dobney
Jim Jump
Denis Lenihan
David McKnight
Above: Stained-glass window in Belfast City Hall. Top: International Brigade memorial in Writers Square.
