Province 8 ~ Salford
Provincial Council 8 of the Knights of St Columba is situated within the area of the Catholic
Diocese of Salford; in the North West of England. The Council comprises of
seven local Councils spread throughout the Diocese; in North and South Manchester,
Stockport, Bolton, Sale, Standish and Warrington. The Provincial Grand Knight is
Allan Mitchinson who can be contacted by
telephone on 01257 421659 or by email at province 8 PGK
Representatives of the local Councils of Province 8 meet quarterly, at varying locations, throughout the Province.
Current information on the date, time and location of future meetings is available on the activities page.
Details of Local Council meeting places and times are also provided on the knights page.
Salford's first council was set up at Bury (46), on March 4, 1923, and this was followed a week later by Rochdale (48). Not long afterwards came
Stockport (80), Hyde (90), Manchester (104) and Burnley (110). The province itself, named after the diocese, was erected on December 20, 1925 and other councils
quickly followed; Oldham (121), Horwich (125), Salford (148), Ashton-under-Lyne (166), Bolton (168), Manchester North
(172), Eccles (175), Hadfield (198) and Altrincham (247). Later came Stretford (322), Marple (345), Middleton (372), Denton (439), Heywood
(499), Irlam (471) and Manchester (536). As the Province 8 expanded and increased in size, it was subdivided into other Provinces, namely Province 21 (East Lancashire) and Province 31
(South Lancashire) who absorbed the councils in Burnley, Horwich and Bolton. At a later stage, Altrincham joined Province 25 (Shrewsbury).
The erection of Salford Province 8 was largely due to the efforts of Dan Kelly (pictured left).
A stalwart of the Knights of St Columba in south Lancashire, Dan was a founder member of of Council 46 (Rochdale) and
elected to office at the Council's first meeting in 1923. Following the establishment of the Province, Dan was chosen as the first Provincial
Grand Knight (PD) of Province 8. He later became Supreme Knight and died whilst holding that office in 1952.
Three members of the province who later became Lord Mayor of Manchester were Hugh Lee, James Fitzsimmons (KCSG) and Tony Burns, all members of Council 104. Other knights who
became their towns' first citizens were J.Porter (Stalybridge), J.Fields (Droylsden), C.Miles (Hyde), J.Shine (Oldham) and D.Muldoon (Swinton).
Councils within Province 8 work closely with the Parishes and communities in which
the councils are located, providing support and funds for various projects. The majority of members are also active participants in their own parishes.
If you wish to be involved in such an organisation why not start by contacting us at
province8
For further information on on the Knights of St Columba visit the Official website
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Tel: +44 (0)141 883 5700 e-mail info@ksc.org.uk
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