The Mount Street Club was a charity in Ireland for the unemployed of Dublin. It took its name from the location of its premises at 81–82 Lower Mount Street and as an ironic echo of the Kildare Street Club, former bastion of the Protestant Ascendancy.

History

Its premises were at 81–82 Lower Mount Street,

allotment Allotment may refer to: * Allotment (Dawes Act), an area of land held by the US Government for the benefit of an individual Native American, under the Dawes Act of 1887 * Allotment (finance), a method by which a company allocates over-subscribed s ...

s beside the railway line at

Sydney Parade Sydney Parade is a cricket ground in Dublin, Ireland. The first recorded match on the ground was in 1897, when Pembroke played Leicester Ivanhoe. In 1965, the ground hosted a first-class match between Ireland and Scotland, which resulted in ...

and Merrion, and a farm in

Clondalkin Clondalkin ( ; ) is a suburban town situated 10 km south-west of Dublin city centre, Ireland, under the administrative jurisdiction of South Dublin. It features an 8th-century round tower that acts as a focal point for the area. Clondalk ...

. Men as members could earn "tallies" (paper scrip) which they could exchange for food, clothing, fuel or furniture on a barter or time-banking system. It was founded in 1934 by

James Hardress de Warrenne Waller James Hardress de Warrenne Waller (31 July 1884 – 9 February 1968), was an Irish inventor and engineer who developed building systems using concrete known as Nofrango and the Ctesiphon system. Early life and family James Hardress de Warrenne ...

and Philip Somerville-Large. Members produced or obtained food, clothing, and furniture. Lessons in making and repairing works were given, and applied to items donated to the club. The clubhouse had leisure facilities, a kitchen and dining-room for 100, workshops, washing facilities, and a barbershop. When Seanad Éireann was revived under the 1937 Constitution, the Mount Street Club registered as a nominating body on the Administrative Panel. Two of its governors ran in both the April and August 1938 elections, with John Newcome successful in the first, losing his seat once party politics took hold in the Seanad. The club was most successful during The Emergency of the Second World War, when it had 6,000 members. In 1939, the Seanad debated a motion that the

Land Commission The Irish Land Commission was created by the British crown in 1843 to 'inquire into the occupation of the land in Ireland. The office of the commission was in Dublin Castle, and the records were, on its conclusion, deposited in the records tower t ...

should donate farmland to the club to alleviate food shortages in the city. The 1942 act establishing the

Central Bank of Ireland The Central Bank of Ireland ( ga, Banc Ceannais na hÉireann) is Ireland's central bank, and as such part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). It is the country's financial services regulator for most categories of financial firms ...

prohibited " unauthorised money" but made an exception for Mount Street's tallies. By the 1970s its core functions had been superseded by the Department of Social Welfare. In 1972 the club moved from Mount Street to

Fenian Street Fenian Street is a street in Dublin, Ireland. Location Fenian Street runs from Lincoln Place at the western end, to Hogan Place at the eastern end, parallel with Pearse Street. History Fenian Street was formally called Denzille or Denzil Street ...

. The work of the Mount Street Club evolved over the years, and in the 1970s and 1980s it supported start-up businesses and set up training schemes for the unemployed. In the 1990s it was involved in regenerating the Grand Canal Dock. The club's property was sold in 2006 and it was incorporated as a charitable trust, the Mount Street Club Trust in 2007. It continues to work on projects that give support to those suffering from the effects of unemployment in the Greater Dublin Area.

References

Sources

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Citations

{{Authority control Charities based in the Republic of Ireland 1934 establishments in Ireland Organizations established in 1934 Unemployment Organisations based in Dublin (city) Seanad nominating bodies