Camden Square in north London has beautiful architecture and is a designated conservation area. Behind the elegant facade of one house in this elegant garden square lies tragedy. Amy Winehouse died here in 2011. However, another facade hides a very different story.
This is the London Irish Centre, founded in 1955 by two priests to help Irish people coming to London in search of work and falling on hard times. More than sixty years later it is still going strong. If you’d like to see what they do, please watch the short film made in 2008 at the end of this post. You will see that they have a pretty broad mandate including cultural, community and social events and welfare. It is the welfare aspect that I’m interested in and where the Benevolent Society of St Patrick makes an entrance. This is how the Society describes itself.
“The Benevolent Society of St Patrick was established in 1783 to provide charitable relief to poor and distressed Irish living in and around London. It was amalgamated with the older Irish Charitable Society (founded 1704) in 1787. In providing relief no religious or political distinctions were to be made. Children were particularly the objects of the Society’s care. Assistance in clothing and education were regularly given. In 1820 the Society opened its own schools in Stamford Street, which were closed in 1921. The premises now house the London Nautical School.
The Society reviewed its activities and started to give grants to young Irish men and women ‘of good conduct and industry’ and to elderly Irish people. In addition grants were given towards hospital beds. After 1948 grants were regularly given to assist the unemployed and other Irish families in need. The Society has long enjoyed royal patronage. Until her death, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother was Patron.
The Society provides support for poor Irish people in London. This support is mostly in the form of small grants distributed through those welfare organisations in London which are in direct contact with people in need. Most grants are administered via the London Irish Centre in Camden which has been caring for the Irish community in London for 60 years. The purpose of grants is usually to provide some essential item, e.g. a cooker, bed or other household item. The absence of a grant might mean the individual doing without or having recourse to a back-street money-lender.
The Irish community in London is large, and although most have made their way in life and are comfortable, many older immigrants suffer loneliness and poverty. Also, the effects of recession in Ireland creates a continuous flow of new migrants, some of whom need emergency assistance.
As well as providing grants to individuals, the Society provides occasional financial support to front-line organisations to assist in their work for Irish in need. Recent examples include the Irish Commission for Prisoners Overseas which works with over 1,000 Irish people in British prisons, the Southwark Irish Pensioners which cares for older Irish people, and the Ace of Clubs project in Clapham which helps homeless people, including many Irish.”
If, like me, you think charity begins, if not at home, somewhere close to home and you are Irish you may think this 233 year old, ultra low-profile charity is worth supporting. The Duke of Abercorn KG, by the way, is the current Patron and here is their latest financial statement on the Charity Commission website. As you can see it’s a micro-charity so quite a little goes a long way.
Finally, here’s a cautionary tale, not from Hilaire Belloc but from Val Doonican.
The Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick was established in 1783, the same year as the Benevolent Society of St Patrick.
I wonder if they are – or were – connected in some way.
I cannot find any connection although it would rather splendid if there were to be one. In the 18th century there was a burgeoning of philanthropic activity and the Benevolent Society of St Patrick is one, rather small, example of this. Nevertheless, it’s pleasing that it is still in existence.