Daly's Club, with premises known as Daly's Club House, was a
gentlemen's club in Dublin, Ireland, a centre of social and political life between its origins in about 1750 and its end in 1823.
History
Daly's had its origins in a Chocolate House, established in about 1750 at numbers 1–3
Dame Street
Dame Street (; ) is a large thoroughfare in Dublin, Ireland.
History
The street takes its name from a dam built across the River Poddle to provide water power for milling. First appears in records under this name around 1610 but in the 14th ...
, Dublin, later described as "the only society, in the nature of club, then existing in the Irish metropolis".
[''Edinburgh magazine'', vol. 8 (1841)]
p. 319
/ref> The establishment was much frequented by members of the Parliament of Ireland
The Parliament of Ireland ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two cham ...
. In the 1760s, a group of gentlemen who met there constituted themselves as a club, which was said to be named after Henry Grattan
Henry Grattan (3 July 1746 – 4 June 1820) was an Irish politician and lawyer who campaigned for legislative freedom for the Irish Parliament in the late 18th century from Britain. He was a Member of the Irish Parliament (MP) from 1775 to 18 ...
's friend Denis Daly (1748–1791). In some ways this came to resemble White's
White's is a gentlemen's club in St James's, London. Founded in 1693 as a hot chocolate shop in Mayfair, it is the oldest gentleman's club in London. It moved to its current premises on St James's Street in 1778.
Status
White's is the oldes ...
in St James's Street, London, both in importance and exclusivity.[Thomas Hay Sweet Escott, ''Club Makers and Club Members'' (1913)]
pp. 329–333
/ref>
In 1787, the blackballing
Blackballing is a rejection in a traditional form of secret ballot, where a white ball or ballot constitutes a vote in support and a black ball signifies opposition. The system is typically used where an organization's rules provide that one or t ...
of William Burton Conyngham
William Burton Conyngham (1733 – 31 May 1796) was an Irish politician and improver.
Life
He was born William Burton, the second son of Francis Burton and Mary Conyngham, sister of Henry Conyngham, 1st Earl Conyngham. In 1781, his name was ...
from political motives led to an exodus of members from Daly's, who in the shape of the Kildare Street Club
The Kildare Street Club is a historical member's club in Dublin, Ireland, at the heart of the Anglo-Irish Protestant Ascendancy.
The Club remained in Kildare Street between 1782 and 1977, when it merged with the Dublin University Club to become ...
formed a new club which soon rivalled Daly's as a fashionable haunt.
In 1790 a number of members of Daly's who were also members of the Irish Parliament paid for a new clubhouse at number 3, College Green College Green or The College Green may refer to:
* College Green, Adelaide outdoor venue at the University of Adelaide
* College Green, Bristol, England
* College Green (Dartmouth College), New Hampshire, primarily known as "the Green"
* College ...
, close to the Irish Houses of Parliament
Parliament House ( ga, Tithe na Parlaiminte) in Dublin, Ireland, was home to the Parliament of Ireland, and since 1803 has housed the Bank of Ireland. It was the world's first purpose-built bicameral parliament house. It is located at Colleg ...
.[ The new premises, designed by Francis Johnston, stretched from Anglesey Street to Foster Place and were opened with a grand dinner on 16 February 1791. With marble ]chimneypiece
The fireplace mantel or mantelpiece, also known as a chimneypiece, originated in medieval times as a hood that projected over a fire grate to catch the smoke. The term has evolved to include the decorative framework around the fireplace, and ca ...
s, white and gold chairs and sofas covered with aurora silk, the new clubhouse was superbly furnished.[John Thomas Gilbert, ''A History of the City of Dublin'', vol. 3]
pp. 39–40
/ref>
Daly's Club reached the height of its notability after its arrival at College Green.[ It was one of the venues for meetings of the Irish Hell Fire Club, which met variously at Montpelier Lodge on ]Montpelier Hill
Montpelier Hill () is a 383 metres (1,257 foot) hill in County Dublin, Ireland. It is commonly referred to as the Hell Fire Club (), the popular name given to the ruined building at the summit believed to be one of the first Freemason lodges ...
, at the Eagle Tavern on Cork Hill near Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin.
Until 1922 it was the s ...
, or at Daly's on College Green.
In 1794, ''The European Magazine and London Review
''The European Magazine'' (sometimes referred to as ''European Magazine'') was a monthly magazine published in London. Eighty-nine semi-annual volumes were published from 1782 until 1826. It was launched as the ''European Magazine, and London Re ...
'' declared:
However, after the Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
with Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
of 1800 put an end to the Irish Parliament by creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Grea ...
, the Club fell into a decline and was eclipsed by the Kildare Street Club.[ Daly was followed as manager of the Club by Peter Depoe, who continued in office until 1823,][ when the Club was closed. By 1841, the Club was described in the ''Edinburgh magazine'' as "the once-celebrated, and still well-remembered, "Daly's Club" ".][
After the Club's demise, the novels of ]Charles Lever
Charles James Lever (31 August 1806 – 1 June 1872) was an Irish novelist and raconteur, whose novels, according to Anthony Trollope, were just like his conversation.
Biography Early life
Lever was born in Amiens Street, Dublin, the second ...
, such as ''Charles O'Malley: The Irish Dragoon'' and ''The Knight of Gwynne: a Tale of the Time of the Union'', gave it a reputation for melodramatic romance.[
In ''Charles O'Malley'', Lever gives an impression of the impact of the Club's closure:
In 1866, ]Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
alluded to the fate of the Club in his ''All the Year Round'':
While much of the building has been demolished, part of the remains are now occupied by a coffee shop and offices at 2-4 College Green.
Notable members
*John Philpot Curran
John Philpot Curran (24 July 1750 – 14 October 1817) was an Irish orator, politician, wit, lawyer and judge, who held the office of Master of the Rolls in Ireland. He was renowned for his representation in 1780 of Father Neale, a Catholic pri ...
[
*]Henry Flood
Henry Flood (1732 – 2 December 1791), Irish statesman, son of Warden Flood, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench for Ireland, was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and afterwards at Christ Church, Oxford, where he became proficient ...
[
* Charles Kendal Bushe][
*]William Conyngham Plunket, 1st Baron Plunket
William Conyngham Plunket, 1st Baron Plunket, PC (Ire), QC (1 July 1764 – 5 January 1854) was an Irish politician and lawyer. After gaining public notoriety as the prosecutor in the treason trial of Robert Emmet in 1803, he rose rapidly in g ...
[
*]Henry Grattan
Henry Grattan (3 July 1746 – 4 June 1820) was an Irish politician and lawyer who campaigned for legislative freedom for the Irish Parliament in the late 18th century from Britain. He was a Member of the Irish Parliament (MP) from 1775 to 18 ...
[
* Sir Hercules Langrishe, 1st Baronet][
*]George Ponsonby
George Ponsonby (5 March 17558 July 1817), was a British lawyer and Whig politician. He served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1806 to 1807 in the Ministry of All the Talents.
Background and education
Ponsonby was the second surviving so ...
[
]
Notes
Bibliography
*R. E. Brooke, ''Daly's Club and Kildare Street Club'' (Dublin: 1930)
See also
*Kildare Street Club
The Kildare Street Club is a historical member's club in Dublin, Ireland, at the heart of the Anglo-Irish Protestant Ascendancy.
The Club remained in Kildare Street between 1782 and 1977, when it merged with the Dublin University Club to become ...
{{History of Dublin
Organisations based in Dublin (city)
Politics of pre-partition Ireland
Gentlemen's clubs in Ireland
Demolished buildings and structures in Dublin
Hotels in Dublin (city)
Georgian architecture in Ireland