Joseph Michael Meade (1839 – 14 July 1900) was an Irish businessman and politician. He was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, son of Michael Meade of Great Brunswick St., a catholic and founder of the building and contracting firm of Meade, Michael & Son. Joseph entered the family firm and on his father's death in 1866, and took over as head and greatly expanded it. He eventually employed 900 men and was contracted for major projects. He was the chairman of numerous boards including the Hibernian Bank and the Globe insurance company, he used his wealth and position to enhance his civic standing. In 1886 he was elected to

Dublin Corporation Dublin Corporation (), known by generations of Dubliners simply as ''The Corpo'', is the former name of the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin since the 1100s. Significantly re-structured in 1660-1661, even more sign ...

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

for Trinity ward, a position he held until his death, and in 1889 he was made Sheriff of Dublin City. A staunch nationalist, he contributed financially to the Home Rule League and after the split in 1890, he remained a supporter of

Charles Stewart Parnell Charles Stewart Parnell (27 June 1846 – 6 October 1891) was an Irish nationalist politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1875 to 1891, also acting as Leader of the Home Rule League from 1880 to 1882 and then Leader of the ...

. He was elected Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1891 and re-elected the following year – his princely hospitality in the Mansion House was apparently responsible for his popularity. In the 1892 general election he stood as an

Irish National League The Irish National League (INL) was a nationalist political party in Ireland. It was founded on 17 October 1882 by Charles Stewart Parnell as the successor to the Irish National Land League after this was suppressed. Whereas the Land League h ...

candidate for Stephen's Green constituency and was narrowly defeated by 15 votes by the liberal unionist William Kenny. It was his first and last attempt for a seat in parliament. He died on 14 July 1900 and is buried in Glasnevin cemetery. He was survived by his second wife, Ada Willis. At Meade's death, his property – the bulk of which was in tenements – was valued at £60,000. Nine tenement houses which he owned in Henrietta Street were then auctioned; (including

14 Henrietta Street 14 Henrietta Street is a museum located on Henrietta Street in Dublin, Ireland. The museum, sometimes referred to as the Tenement Museum, opened in September 2018. History Construction of Henrietta Street began in the 1720s, on land bought by L ...

) these alone had provided him with a gross annual rental of £1,500. In twentieth-century history books he is chiefly remembered as a notorious slum landlord and despoiler of Georgian Dublin; he stripped out original features in the houses he owned and subdivided them. However, he enjoyed a good reputation during his lifetime; his obituaries testify to his geniality, his common sense, and his ability to make friends across the political divide.

References

1839 births 1900 deaths Lord Mayors of Dublin Politicians from Dublin (city) Businesspeople from Dublin (city) {{Ireland-mayor-stub