Ireland has a long history of individuals, groups, and charities assisting homeless people through charitable donations, fundraising activities, voluntary work, and the provision of accommodation. While philanthropic efforts can never solve the problem of homelessness, such endeavours have left their mark in the historical archives.
Community concern for homeless people and community esprit de corps was very much evident in Castlebar in the summer of 1977. A new Lions Club branch was opened in the town in June of that year. Castlebar Lions Club is a member of the large family of such clubs that comprise the International Association of Lions Clubs. The association was founded in Chicago by Melvin Jones in 1917. By 2020, it had over 46,000 local clubs and 1.4 million members in 200 countries.
In July 1977, the Evening Herald published the names of the officers of the new Castlebar Lions Club. They were Joe Mulrooney, President; Michael Cosgrave, Secretary; and James Tierney, Treasurer. The officers were selected in advance of a Charter Banquet at Breaffy House Hotel on 24 June 1977. Charter member Sean O’Regan was the master of ceremonies on the night. The Western People reported that he ‘proceeded to deadpan his witty way through a potted history of the lions family’. Other Charter Members included Cathal Duffy, Tony McHugh, Peter Ryan, Billy Flynn, Paddy Irwin, Tony Kelly, Laurence Barrett, Bob Kilkelly, Ernie Conway, Michael Heverin, Brian O’Dwyer, Phil Gaughan, Pat Gleeson, Jim McKiernan, Paul Gavin, Dr Sean Tobin, James O’Loughlin, Michael Treacy, Joe Maher, Michael O’Malley, and Kevin Burns.
The Galway Lions Club sponsored the Castlebar bid for association membership. At the same time, Michael McCluskey of Galway and Castlebar businessman Cathal Duffy were seen as instrumental in setting up the Castlebar branch. At the banquet dinner in Breaffy, the new club received its charter from District Governor Harry Roache of Kilkenny, and the first Lions Club pins were handed out to Castlebar members.
With the new branch up and running, the officers and members were keen to get off to a good start. President Joe Mulrooney announced their first project at the Breaffy event. A new four-bed self-contained unit at the Sacred Heart Hospital would be provided for homeless people or what were then termed ‘Knights of the Road’. An existing hospital wing would be altered to accommodate the unit at an estimated cost of £2,000. The Sacred Heart Hospital was the obvious location as homeless people converged there at night seeking accommodation. There was no space for them, so they ended up on makeshift beds in the corridors. Dr Sean Tobin set out the case for the unit. The initiative would require the consent and support of the Western Health Board.
To raise money, permission was sought from the Department of Transport and Power to release up to 4,000 tagged balloons for a balloon race fuelled by westerly winds. Each balloon cost 50 pence. After two weeks, the owner of the balloon found furthest from Castlebar would be declared the winner. The Department consented subject to no more than 50 balloons being released at one time and that there would be no metal tags – there were concerns for negative impacts on radar across Europe. Bad weather on the scheduled lift-off day resulted in the event being deferred for three weeks. The balloons were, however, launched on 15 October 1977. The Connaught Telegraph reported that the ‘mighty Castlebar Lions Club huffed and puffed and finally thousands of balloons soared into the sky’. Local businesses sponsored prizes and donated money to the project.
The facility at the Sacred Heart Hospital was officially opened on 29 June 1978 and widely lauded as a success for the Lions Club. The six-bed unit had washing, shower, and toilet facilities. At £4,500, the final cost of the works and fittings was more than double the estimated £2,000, but there were two additional beds.
The project at the Sacred Heart Hospital was the first of many for the club in Castlebar, and the club and its members quickly gained a reputation for successfully delivering community-based schemes aimed at bettering the lives of people who needed support in the community. Image: Lions Club International Logo, in Wikipedia.
