This is part 2 or our continuing story of the founding of NCBI.
In this the 80th Anniversary year of the founding of NCBI, Frank Callery draws on the soon to be published History of NCBI (and of the History of the Blind in Irish Society in general), to outline in this series of articles the founding and early work of NCBI. In part two we deal with the foundation meeting and the slow, onward progress of NCBI.
An Invitation
Arising from the ‘private’ meeting held by Alice Armitage on January 20th 1931 and her subsequent meeting with Denis Barrett, Miss Long and Dr. James Quin; and the behind-the-scenes and last-minute machinations with McG. Eagar and Mary Thomas — who had briefed her well and allayed her fears on the subject of introducing a home visiting service — the preparation work for the foundation meeting continued. In late February she wrote to all the institutions and individuals then involved in blind welfare in Ireland. Her invitation was courteous and to the point. It read:
“Standard Hotel, Dublin.
Dear ,
A few people interested in the blind met here at my invitation on the 20th January to consider the advisability of forming a Central Committee to represent all those who are working for the welfare of the blind in the Irish Free State. The great need for the visiting and teaching of blind people in their own homes was brought before the meeting and it was pointed out that this work had not developed in the Free State to any extent as compared to other countries. The St. Vincent de Paul Society contemplated carrying out a scheme with these objects in view and representatives from the society were present at the meeting. It was generally agreed that there was a need for a Central Council or Committee to co-ordinate various branches of work for the blind, and with a view to obtaining more information and furthering the fresh developments that were considered necessary, a sub-committee was appointed consisting of the following Miss Eacott, (representing Miss Armitage), Mr. Denis Barrett, Miss Angela Boland, Mr. Fullerton, Mrs. Hughes, Miss Long, Dr. T. G. Moorhead, Dr. and Mrs. Quin, and two representatives of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
“I have been requested, on behalf of the members, to invite a representative of your society to meet them and others interested in the work for the blind, at this hotel on March 10th at 5.15p.m. to discuss the whole question. I very much hope that your Committee will accept this invitation and send a representative. Any suggestions, whether from the Blind themselves or from those who are already actively working on their behalf will be greatly valued, both with regards to the present needs and with regard to the future development of work for the Blind in the event of a larger and more generous support from the public, such as is hoped will follow as a result of the formation of an active and influential Central Committee. This invitation is being sent to the following Institutions and Societies:
St. Joseph’s, Drumcondra, St. Mary’s, Merrion, The Richmond National Institution, The Molyneux Institution, The Blind Asylum, Cork, The National League of the Blind, (Irish Branch), The Irish Blind (sic) Association, The Rochfort Wade Hostel for Blind Women, The Limerick Asylum for Blind Women and The Belfast Workshops for the Blind.
“I am sure you will agree that much remains to be done and it is hoped with your assistance to initiate a forward movement in this sphere of social service.
I am, Yours faithfully, Alice S. Armitage”.
The invitation was received with mixed feelings; some doubted its usefulness, some were sceptical and mistrusting of its intentions and also concerned about the possible impingement on their own organisations and operations (particularly their fund-raising), yet all saw the need for some “forward development” in the vacuum of social deprivation in which the blind of Ireland existed.
Mary Thomas, information office of the N.I.B., took the boat to Dublin on Friday March 6th and assisted the committee to prepare for the Inaugural meeting, the main plank of which was to be a talk by her on Home Teaching Services.
The first public meeting of NCBI took place on Tuesday, March 10th 1931 at 5.15 pm in the Standard Hotel, Harcourt Street. The names of those who attended the foundation meeting were: Mr. O’Farrell, Mr. A. M. Fullerton, Doctors James and Nannette Quin, Mr. Trench, Miss Trench, Mrs. Olivia Hughes (Fethard, Co. Tipperary), Miss Monaghan, Mr. Cyril Dickinson and Captain Freeland (Richmond National Institute for the Blind), Miss Long and Miss Carroll of the Civics Institute; Mr. Wallace and Miss Adair (Molyneux Asylum), Mrs. Cantwell, Miss Howard, Miss Marnan, Mr. Denis Barrett, Miss Mary G. Thomas (National Institute for the Blind, London), the Reverend Mother and Sister Laurentia (Merrion Asylum for the Blind), Mr. Bagott, Mr. Denis Byrne, Mr. Walsh, Mr. MacPherson, Mr. McDonnell, Dr. Thomas Gilman Moorhead, Mr. Crawley, Mrs. Leonard, Mr. Connan and Mrs. Hutton (Rochfort Wade Hostel for Blind Women, formerly of the Hibernian Blind Association and members of the old N.I.B. Dublin branch), Mrs. E. A. Glynn, Miss Dunn, Mr. John Patrick Neary (Irish Association for the Blind), Mr. and Mrs. McCarthy, Miss Hall, Brother John Burns ([sic] St. Joseph’s Home Drumcondra), Miss Patten, Miss Angela Boland, the Misses Boland, Miss Emily Eacott, Miss Doris Mary Armitage, Miss Eleanor Armitage, and Mrs. Ellen Armitage. Barbara Knox and Molly Rochfort Wade send their apologies, they were still working on a St. Dunstan’s poultry farm in Sussex; Barbara was cramming for the Home Teachers of the Blind exams which would take place in May.
Apart from Mary G. Thomas’s report, there is no extant record of this first meeting of the NCBI except the press report in The Irish Times of March 11th 1931, but we can gather from collateral records the mood of some of those who attended. Mary Thomas was the main speaker and addressed the meeting in favour of home visiting. In outlined the work which could be undertaken by a home visiting service. she cited typical cases of blind people in rural and urban districts in England, who had benefited from home visits and cited among these the case of Mrs. Mills of 8 Tyrrell Place, Fitzgibbon Street, Dublin, whom she had visited on Saturday March 7th.
Dr. Thomas Gilman Moorhead who chaired the meeting, said that ‘if they accepted the percentages provided there were over 200 blind children in the Free State who required education, a further 800 middle-aged persons whose need was manual training, and over 2,000 aged people who required comfort in their extreme loneliness’ (the figures were widely off the mark). Mr. McPherson proposed that a Central Committee for the Blind be appointed and this was seconded by Mr. Bagott J.P. Neary of the I.A.B. proposed an amendment to the motion to the effect that before a Central Committee be set up a constitution might be drafted for submission to societies and institutions concerned. This was not supported and the original motion was carried. ‘Membership of the Committee was allotted to one representative from each of the following institutions: St. Joseph’s Drumcondra, St. Mary’s Merrion, The Richmond National Institution, The Molyneux Asylum (provisional — whose secretary said he could not accept the invitation without his Council’s sanction), Blind Asylum, Cork, the Asylum for Blind Women, Limerick, The National League of the Blind of Ireland, and the Irish Association for the Blind. The individuals elected were: Mr. Denis Barrett, Miss Alice Armitage (permanent chairman), Dr. T. G. Moorhead, Mr. Alexander Moffitt Fullerton, OBE, Dr. James Quin, Miss Boland, Mr. MacPherson and Mr. O’Farrell. It was agreed not to proceed further with the appointment of a home visitor and an appeal, until after the Central Committee had got to work. The following day Miss Long called to see Alice Armitage and Miss Eacott to discuss the meeting and the way forward for the new council. They decided to summon the new committee at as early a date as possible and Mary Thomas undertook to forward to Miss Armitage at once some specimen Constitutions of local associations for the blind in England. These Miss Long has undertake to study and from them to prepare a draft Constitution likely to meet local needs. The draft to be submitted to a few members of the newly appointed committee (e.g. Dr. Quin, Miss Armitage and Dr. Moorhead) and if they approve of it, they will then submit it as a suggested draft to other members of the new committee as a basis for discussion at their first meeting. Mary Thomas undertook to have copies in Braille made for blind members.
In her report to the N.I.B. Thomas says: “I think Miss Armitage is satisfied with the general progress made and quite hopeful for the future. There are a good many interests represented on the Committee and I do not think it will be altogether easy, but there are some very good people on it, and probably the more difficult ones will “cancel out” each other, as they are no means all of one way of thinking”.
The first meeting of the executive committee of the NCBI was held on Tuesday, April 14th, 1931 at the Standard Hotel and present at that meeting were:
Miss Alice Armitage, Miss Boland, Miss Eacott, Mr. William R. MacPherson (blind tea merchant, 57 Cromwellsfort Road, Crumlin), Dr. Thomas Gilman Moorhead, M.D., Mr. Robert O’Farrell, Miss L. Long, Dr. James Sinclair and Mrs. Nanette Quin, Sister Laurentia Moore of St. Mary’s Asylum, Merrion, Mr. Tobin, Irish Association for the Blind, Mr. Peter Conaghy, Irish National League of the Blind; Mr. Cyril Dickinson, Richmond National Institution for the Industrious Blind, Mr. Gilligan, Society of St. Vincent de Paul (pro tem.) Prior John Byrne of St. Joseph’s Asylum, Drumcondra.
The Molyneux Asylum and the Rochfort Wade Hostel declined the invitation to serve and no reply had been received from the Limerick Asylum nor from the Cork Asylum. Alice Armitage presided at this meeting (with her companion Miss Emily A. Eacott acting as her listener) and she proposed the following names for the Executive Committee: Mr. Denis Barrett, Miss Boland, Mr. Boydell, Miss Eacott, Mr. Fullerton, Miss Humphries, Miss Long, Mr. McPherson, Dr. Moorhead, Mr. O’Farrell, Dr. J. S. Quin, Mrs. Nanette (Nancy) Quin, Miss Barbara Knox, Miss Molly Rochfort Wade. Representatives from: St. Joseph’s, Drumcondra; St. Mary’s, Merrion; The Irish Association for the Blind; Irish National League of the Blind; The Richmond National Institution for the Blind; and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Dr. James Quin seconded the list of names proposed and it was passed unanimously.
Dr. T. G. (Thomas Gilman) Moorhead had been asked to act as Chairman at the inaugural meeting but declined and Miss Armitage, therefore, proposed Mr. Denis Barrett (seconded by Miss Boland). Denis Barrett took the chair, a position he intended to occupy for one year, but one which he would occupy for many. In fact many of those present at this first executive meeting were to continue to serve NCBI for many years into the future. Miss Eacott said that Miss Armitage had kindly consented to act as Hon. Secretary pro tem. Denis Barrett proposed that Mrs. Quin be Hon. Treasurer. Sister Laurentia of St. Mary’s asked that a list of people, which she would suggest, might be written to and asked to serve on the committee.
The newly-elected executive then set about promulgating the objects and rules of the NCBI. A draft constitution was presented by Miss Armitage consisting of three objects and 10 rules. Having debated the draft, it was unanimously adopted with the addition of one new object and one additional rule. Having sated itself with a full day’s work, the executive of the fledging Council set forth to improve the lot of the blind of Ireland. (To be continued.)