The Celtic Club - Melbourne
An Asset for all the Community
For
the past 116 years the Celtic Club has been the focal
point of the Irish Australian community in Melbourne
. This is encapsulated in the Celtic Club's current
vision statement which looks to the Club being the
natural place for Irish people and those Australians
of Irish descent to gather and maintain their proud
Irish heritage and culture while also extending a welcoming
hand to people of all other Celtic nations and the
broader community.
Building a Future on a Proud
Heritage
When the Celtic Club was established
on 20 September 1887, at the Imperial Hotel in Bourke
Street Dr M. O'Sullivan presided over the first meeting
of the provisional committee to establish the Club.
From the beginning, its raison d'être was to
unite, regardless of creed or Australian party politics,
men who sympathized with Ireland's aspirations for
Home Rule. In those early days, as now, the Celtic
Club sponsored numerous cultural and political events
many related to Irish issues but it was also a time
when the colonies were looking to being independent
from Britain. In Melbourne in the late 1880s, many people without
Irish ancestry supported Ireland's aspiration for self-
government. As a result, the Club was called the "Celtic" Club
rather than "Irish" for the specific intention
of providing a meeting place for those people who supported
the Home Rule Movement. As a result, the membership
over the years has been representative of practically
all Celts - Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish and Breton
however, understandably, the balance is Irish or of
Irish descent.
From its very beginning, the Club's constitution has
declared that it is "strictly and irrevocably" non-sectarian
and non-political in the sense that it did not support
any specific Australian political party.
Inside the Club|
On the rear wall
of the Tara Bar is a magnificent collage painting celebrating
the foundation of the Club. In each of the four corners
is one of the four ancient provinces of Ireland and
in the middle top is an artist's representation of
the old Irish Parliament facing Trinity College, the
Parliament of Grattan that was abandoned after the
Act of Union in 1801. The centerpiece is the Club emblem
that shows the Southern Cross above a harp and shamrock
and the Latin motto "Pro Patria
et Pro Libertate" that proclaims the aspirations
of the founders. Underneath is a scene of the Irish
countryside and below it two emblems side by side:
Erin Go Bragh and Advance Australia Fair. Dotted around
the collage are photographs of the founder, Dr O'Sullivan
and a number of early presidents of the Club.
The Celtic Club walls hold considerable memorabilia
relating to past events in the Celtic Club and also
the cultural, political and sporting life of the Irish
in Australia and in their homeland. It is worth a visit
to the Tara Bar, restaurant and the office on the second
floor to view these many pieces of living history.
Supporting the Celtic Community
The
Celtic Club regularly hosts visits by Irish political,
business and cultural identities and in August 2001
arranged the first ever gathering of Melbourne's Celtic
nations at the Club. The Celtic Club supports the Australian
Irish Community in many ways for instance the Irish
Australian Chamber of Commerce and TAIN Magazine are
located at the Club.
Some other activities that occur
at the Club on a regular basis are:
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