| London Irish Centre is banking on
Peter to build for the future  Moving
from a job in the City with the Bank of Ireland to running the London
Irish Centre seemed a strange career move for PETER HAMMOND but as Niamh
Hennessy found out the Dublin man has thrown himself into his new role.
WAITING to meet the new director of the London Irish Centre in Camden I sat
at the reception of the centre’s advice clinic.
Here I watched as many Irish people from across London came in to speak
to one of the centre’s advice workers and councillors people who
wanted information on social welfare benefits, moving back to Ireland,
pensions and the many other issues affecting the Irish community in Britain.
It dawned on me that this life couldn’t be further from Peter Hammond’s
previous job at Bank of Ireland in the heart of of the City of London.
But it’s a challenge that the recently-appointed director is relishing.
However he is also quick to point out when we meet that it’s the
staff that are the backbone of the Irish centre.
Peter said: “I’m going to take my time to settle into the
job and meet everybody who works here and uses the centre.
“You have people who have been here for years who know what they
are doing and I don’t intend telling them how to do their job because
they are doing amazing work. But if I see something that I think can work
better by doing it a different way then I will work with them to improve
that.”
Peter Hammond was born and bred in Dublin where he began work with the
Bank of Ireland before moving to Britain to continue working with the
same company.
He now lives in Totteridge in North London and prior to taking up the
post at the London Irish Centre he was director of marketing for the bank
in Britain.
He said of his new job in Camden: “When I saw the job advertised
and got the supporting information available I saw the attributes that
they were looking for it was me to a tee.
“The only thing that they hadn’t got was my name written to
it!” he quips.
It’s very clear that Peter knows what he wants from this role and
he has a plan in his mind about how he is going to go about achieving
it.
“I need to make sure this place is completely focused on serving
the needs of its clients.
“This is a fascinating place and there are things going on here
all the time, it’s like a small town here.
“When I accepted the job I said to the trustees that I would immerse
myself in this place and that’s what I’m doing I have been
out with the outreach workers, spent time with the councillors and this
morning I spent time with the choir.”
At some point Peter said he plans to make sense of everything that is
happening at the centre and then he will sit back and plan for the future.
What he is clear about is that he will not sit back and preserve the
centre he wants to develop it.
“I have a guiding principal of sustain and develop,” he added.
“This place has been around for 50 years and has seen a range of
directors over the years who have all developed it to another stage and
have all done a great job.
“It has a special place in the Irish community and with people across
the world.
“I am conscious that there is a sacred trust here that I mustn’t
breathe upon but nor can I say it has to be preserved. It know the centre
needs to be developed and to do that we need to understand the needs of
our clients and the people who work here.”
Peter is also anxious to work with other Irish societies across London
to share ideas and plans.
“I don’t know what our sister centres do, I don’t
know if they do things better or worse but I can bet you one thing they
do things differently and is that good? I don’t think so.
“I know that the main focus of the various agencies around London
and Britain is serving the Irish community and I want to work with others
who are doing the same thing as us.
“I want us to share how we do things and I would hope that we could
learn from one another.
“I want this Irish centre to be a place where people can gather
and a place where people can come for advice and support and if we’re
not doing that then we’re doing nothing.
“We are doing this at the moment and we’re doing it well but
you can always do things better.”
And it’s these plans that Peter will attempt to put in place over
the next few months and years at the famous London Irish Centre in Camden.
I guess all we can do is wait and see. |
