The O'Connells Arms stood at the bottom of Oldham Road between the still standing Cheshire Cheese and the still open Crown & Kettle, facing the Dog & Partridge on the corner of Henry Street. These photos from 1959, 1961 and the 1970s show it as a Chesters and then a Whitbread house. According to Mick Burke "the Navvies straight off the boat from Ireland would seek out Peter McCann, the gaffer from the Electricity Board, at the O'Connells and ask him for work. They could sup beer all day and still shift earth like mechanical diggers [1]." It shut in 1982. This suggests that the O'Connells became the Express Club - anyone confirm?
Henry Street, Oldham Road. (c) Google 2010. View Larger Map.
1. The Old Pubs of Ancoats, Neil Richardson (1987).
