History

Humble Beginnings

For the first three years, the Society confined its activities to the parish of
St Michan and gave relief in the form of potatoes, bread, meal, straw, fuel or money as circumstances dictated. However, according to Warburton, Whitelaw and Walsh, “the Charity soon attracted public notice and support” and it expanded its geographic reach.

To facilitate its relief work, the Society re-organised itself in 1793 into four separate divisions under the direction of a central committee – the Barrack and Rotunda Divisions on the north side of town, and the Workhouse and St. Stephen’s Green Divisions on the south side. Committees of trustees were drawn from residents of each area to be responsible for distributing relief at a local level.

The divisional monthly meetings were normally held in local public houses, but from 1809 to 1841 the central committee habitually met in the Royal Exchange – now City Hall. The Society then used rented premises in Dame Street, and in 1855 purchased the building in Palace Street which still bears the Society’s name.

The Society attracted regular subscriptions and some substantial donations from affluent benefactors. Another major source of income was charity sermons. By 1823 charity sermons for the benefit of the Society were arranged bi-annually, one in an Anglican church at the end of April and the other in a Catholic church at the beginning of December. This reflected the non-denominational character of the Society.

20th Century:
Expansions & Supports

In the 20th century, the expansion of the city boundaries to include areas such as Drumcondra, Clontarf, Pembroke, Rathmines and Rathgar meant that the Society had to redefine the area of its activities to one that would be manageable having regard to the resources available to it.

Accordingly, it was decided in the 1930s to restrict its activities to the boundaries of the “Old City”, i.e. between the two canals. In more recent times, given the decline in the number of people residing in the inner city, the Society has widened its remit to cover the city and county of Dublin.

In the 1970s the practice of visiting the poor in their homes by members of the divisional committees was discontinued, and in 1976 it was decided to centralise the administration with one committee of trustees and a single chairman. Up to that time the Society had continued to distribute relief, both in kind and in cash, through the divisional committees – as it had done since 1793.

Throughout the 1970s, the Society’s premises in Palace Street were under constant threat of a Compulsory Purchase Order by Dublin Corporation. This was strongly opposed by the trustees and the Society’s Secretary, Gerard Weekes. However, the lack of funds necessary to maintain the premises forced the trustees finally to sell the Palace Street building in 1992. Happily, it still stands proudly displaying the Society’s name and protected under a preservation order.

Following the sale of the premises the Society moved initially to leased accommodation in Lower Leeson Street, then to Upper Leeson Street, and subsequently to its present office in Fitzwilliam Square West.

In 1988, Dublin’s millennium year saw the election of the Society’s first woman trustee, sociologist Dr Geraldine O’Brien.  The Society marked the city’s millennium by holding a masked ball to raise funds for the Society, and the Society continues to benefit from subscriptions, bequests and an annual collection in Catholic churches in the 22 inner city parishes each November.

Today, the need for the assistance which the Society is in a position to give is as great as ever. To perhaps a surprising extent, the types of poverty which the Society’s founders, Samuel Rosborough and his associates, identified and tried to address through the establishment of the Society in 1790 continue to be a priority for the Society – namely, poverty due to illness, unemployment, addiction and other unforeseen circumstances.