THE FOUNDER OF THE LIMERICK ATHENAEUM.
The FOUNDER of the Limerick Athenaeum was WILLIAM LANE JOYNT who achieved the unique distinction of being elected Mayor of Limerick in 1862 and Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1867. William Lane Joynt (1824-1895) apprenticed as a solicitor to Matthew Barrington (We recomend that you visit this families excellent homepage on the web.) of the leading law firm Barrington & Co. The Barrington family lived at Glenstal Castle and built Barrington's Hospital for the citizens of Limerick. In 1852, William Lane Joynt as President of the Limerick Literary & Scientific Society, proposed the establishment of a Limerick Athenaeum. In 1862 he was elected Mayor of Limerick and the following year he moved to Dublin where in 1867 he was elected Lord Mayor. In 1869 he was appointed the Crown and Treasury Solicitor for Ireland. He took a keen interest in the development of the West Coast sea fishing industry and is responsible for the construction of many piers and slipways on the coastline. In Ballyvaughan, Co. Clare, where he maintained a summer house, his name is inscribed in a monument for his successful efforts to persuade the local landlord, the Baron Annaly, to provide a free water supply for the tenants. He died in 1895 and is buried in the grounds of the churchyard at St. John's Square Limerick.A portrait of William Lane Joynt, Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1867 has been discovered in the basement of Dublin Corporation's storage depot. The Athenœum Research Project has initiated a move to have this painting returned to Limerick. If you have an opinion on this please E-Mail us at "theroyal@limerick.com" and we will ensure that your views are passed on to Limerick Corporation.
LEAMY INSTITUTION. HARTSTONGE -STREET
The Winter Session of 1852-53, will commence on
Monday Evening, the 15th Inst, when the President,
W.L.Joynt, Esq will deliver
THE INAUGURAL ADDRESS,
Chair to be taken precisely at Eight o'clock.
Cards of Admission to be had on application to the
Secretaries, or the booksellers J.G.Davis (Hon.Sec)
W.H.Moore (Hon.Sec)
At his Inaugural Address as President to the Limerick Literary and Scientific Society held at the Leamy School in November 1852, William Lane Joynt proposed the establishment of an Athenaeum for Limerick. In his speech, he referred to the difficulties facing all cultural societies in the city in that they lacked a permanent venue or concert hall in which to conduct their activities. The Limerick Philosophical Society founded in 1840 had raised funds to construct the Philosophical Rooms at Havergal Hall (later the Lyric Cinema) as their headquarters. However, the construction costs of Havergal Hall exceeded the budget and the society were forced, under threats of bankrupcy, to hand over the building to a creditor, Francis Spaight, who immediately leased it out to a company manufacturing Limerick Lace. A new non-sectarian body, the Limerick Literary and Scientific Society emerged from this disaster in 1847. William Lane Joynt addressed the difficulty of different cultural societies working together in harmony. He concluded his speech saying "I know full well that Irish undertakings are said to begin with many signs of promise, but die before they reach maturity. but with the failure of the Philosophical society to warn us, the literary wants of the city to impel us on, and the dignity of the cause to inspire us, I have little doubt of our success". The proposal for an Athenaeum received wide support at the meeting. In 1853 William Lane Joynt wrote four articles in the Limerick Chronicle to elaborate on his ideas as to how an Athenaeum might function. His writings are a model of clear-thinking analysis and offer a fascinating insight into post-Famine Limerick.
In Part 1, he gives a summary of the existing cultural societies in the city, hinting that bitter sectarianism and mismanagement had closed the Philosophical Society in 1845.
In Part 2 he outlines the aims of the Athenaeum saying " The Athenaeum should comprise a Lecture Theatre, Library, or Reading Room, Museum, a Room for Classes, or Literary and Scientific meetings; and also embody, if possible, on the terms hereafter stated, 'The Limerick Friends' Society", "the Limerick School of Ornamental Art", "the Limerick Literary and Scientific Society", "the Social Inquiry Society", "the Limerick Harmonic Society", and any societies which may, hereafter, be established, and which may, without violation of the rules, become federal parts of the Athenaeum" He deals with the crucial question as to how the Institution should be managed: " The Government [ of the Athenaeum] should consist of a Board of Directors, annually elected, consisting of a President, two vice presidents, a treasurer, and honorary secretary, and 12 members, together with 2 members from each of the above societies, selected by them, and deputed to represent and protect their individual interests. It will be evident, from this proposal, that each of the local societies would still maintain and preserve its original laws, government, mode of action" pointing out that " If it were proposed to amalgamate all the societies in Limerick the plan would fail. But this plan has, at least, one virtue - it combines all that is really useful, and does not interfere with the laudable jealousy which might object to the individuality of one society being swallowed up, or lost in the amalgamation of all."
In Part 3, he gives a detailed financial costing of the expenses involved in the different sites offered in the city by developers.
In Part 4 he sums up saying: "There never was a time so favourable for the undertaking as the present...Our material wants are, at this period, closely attended to; several public projects, of great public utility, are making this year a starting point in the history of our city. The Munster Fair, the New Corporation Bills, the Limerick Markets, the Ennis Railway, Steam communication with England, the Foynes Railway, in connection with the question, of all others most important, a Transatlantic Packet Station, are proofs that the mind of the City is not slumbering, but active, energetic, and extended in its operations. Let this year, also, be famous in our annals for the establishment of an Athenaeum, as well as the commencement of those truly great undertakings".
William Lane Joynt; Samuel Alexander; Daniel Griffith MD; Richard Russell; The Lord Bishop of Limerick; George Westropp; Rev. Wm Tarbotton; Rev. Arthur Edwards; Robert Hunt; Wm. Hill Evans MD; Thomas Fitt; Robert Tighe; Rev. D Wilson; James Pain; Capt. B Jackson Wm. Franklin; Wm. Fitzgerald [Hon. Sec.].
The voting arrangements were as follows
1. £50. Donors:
2. £30. Donors:
3. £25. Donors:
4. £20 Donors:
5. £10. Donors:
6. £5. Donors:
7. £3. Donors:
8. £2. Donors:
9. £1. Donors:
10. Sundry small subscriptions....£1. [Englishman staying at Cruise's Hotel]
11. Additional Pledges: 1853.Dunraven, Dowager, Countess of 10/- Barrington, Son & Jeffers, Solicitors, Dublin.£5.
Full text of this speech can be found Here
The Munster News of October 5 reports the first AGM of the Limerick Athenaeum which elected William Lane Joynt as President with a Council of 17 members to govern the society. The names of the Council are listed as follows:
Council of the Athenaeum
: a £20 subscription entitled the donor to 3 votes,
a £10 subscription to 2 votes
a £1 subscription to 1 vote". In Nov. 29th: Wm. Lane Joynt, President of the Literary & Scientific Society delivered his Inaugural Address for the year 1853. at the Leamy Institute. In his address he refers to the proposed Athenaeum as a "kind of laudable Utopia". He refers to the recent Famine, saying:: "The disastrous calamities of the last eleven years...all these are passing out of remembrance. Prosperity is once again amongst us and to crown the Great Exhibition has raised the character of Ireland in the eyes of all Europe".
Donors & Founder Members
Robert Tighe, Esq, Assistant Barrister, Co Limerick; The Lord Bishop of Limerick; The Rt. Hon, the Earl of Clare; John N. Russell & Sons; Bishop of Derry.
Rt. Hon. Earl of Dunraven; Rt. Hon. Lord Cloncurry; Samuel Alexander, Esq; Edward Cruise, Esq.
David Leahy, Arthur, Esq.[Cork].
Rt. Hon. Earl of Cork; Rt. Hon. Lord Clarina; Wyndham Goold, Esq, MP; Messrs George Byfield & Co; Reuben Harvey, Esq; Messrs Wm. Todd & Co; William Lane Joynt, Esq; William Fitzgerald, Esq; John Graves, Esq; Marquis of Lansdowne; Francis Spaight & Sons.
The Dean of Limerick; Sir Richard de Burgo, Bart; William Monsell, Esq, MP; Rev Richard Dickson; Capt. S.A.Dickson; Limerick Water Works Co; George Westropp, Esq; William R Gore, Esq, MD; Thomas M Usborne, Esq; Robert Hunt, Esq; John Fogarty, Esq; Henry O' Shea, Esq; Messrs T Revington & Co; Messrs Arnott Cannock & Co; Messrs George McKern & Son; Hon. S.E. Spring-Rice.
The Mayor of Limerick; General Sir Richard Bourke; Henry Maunsell, Esq; Capt. George Vandeleur; Kilner Brazier, Esq; James Barry, Esq, JP; Handel Rogers, Esq; Wm. Fraser, Esq; Charles Barry, Esq; Wm. Franklin, Esq; W. Delaney, Esq; Robert McMurray, Esq; John O'Donnell, Esq; James Marshall, Esq; Wm. J Geary, Esq, MD; Zachariah Ledger, Esq; George Vickers, Esq; J. T. Sheehy, Esq; T G Nairn, Esq; W. H. White, Esq; William Digan, Esq; Alderman Dawson; Joseph Murphy Esq; Wm. Phayer, Esq; Thadeus McDonnell, Esq, JP; Daniel Griffin, Esq, MD; Thomas Kearney, Esq; Messrs W. & T, English; James Bannatyne, Esq; Joseph Barker, Esq, MD; Laurence Quinlivan; Thomas E Davenport, Esq; James Hogan, Esq; Wm. Howley DL; Venerable Archdeacon Maunsell; John Russell, jun, Edwardstown.
James Pain, Esq [3 guineas]; Mrs Brady; William Gubbins, Esq; Rev J Kenyon, PP; George Cree, Esq; John Bowerman, Esq; John Quin Esq; Rev W Tarbotton; Patrick A. Shannon, Esq, JP; James Barry, Esq; Rev D. Wilson; Wm. Evans, Esq, MD; Rev. Robert Stavely; John McDonnell, Esq.
Rev. B. Jacob, [2 guineas]; Edward Lloyd, Esq; R. F. Seymour, Esq; Rev Arthur Edwards; Francis Warde, Esq; Bernard Kavanagh, Esq, MD; Hampden Russell. Esq; . J. R. James, Esq; Robert Angelim; J. B. Kennedy; J Shaw, Esq; Thomas Boyce, Esq, JP; John Low, Esq; Samuel Bradshaw Esq; Francis C Sikes, Esq; Patrick Lynch , Esq; Daniel Doyle, Esq; E. P. Nagle, Esq; John Sidley, Esq; Thomas Lowe, Esq; Wm. J Shaw, jun. Thomas Sullivan, Esq
Rev John Brahan, PP [£1-10-0]; Rev. James Synan, PP; George Sullivan, Esq; J D Hill, Esq; Richard D Wilson, Esq; Wm. Caldwell, County Inspector; Michael Furnell, Esq; Timothy Bunton; George Matterson, Esq; Miss Vereker; Richard Miller, Esq; William Christie, Esq; William Lysaght, Esq; William Harley Moore, Esq; Montague Joynt, Esq; Thomas Bradshaw, Esq; Wm. Glover, Esq; Mrs Chapple; J P Fitzgerald, Esq; John Browne, Esq, JP; R. H. Todhunter, Esq; Richard Wallace, Esq; Edward Grubb, Esq; J. Clune, Esq; Messrs Baird & Goodwin; Mrs Parker; Joseph Merrick, Esq; William A. Mahony, Esq; Patrick Corbett, Esq; Edward Honan, Esq; Robert Wheeler, jun, Esq; John Long, Esq, C.E; William Maley, Esq; William Carroll, Esq; Maurice Lenihan, Esq; Michael O' Gorman, Esq; James R. Browne, Esq; Richard Ellis, Esq; Jonathan Elmes, Esq, MD; Messrs G. M. Goggin & Son; W. L. Guest; Myles Bourke, Esq; Frederick W. Trevor, Esq; John Hunt, Esq; John W. Trousdell, Esq; William D. Hobson, Esq; John Adams, Esq; George Simpson, Esq; Stephen Hastings, Esq; J. Barry, Esq; Thomas Maguire, Esq; Messrs Scarr, Bros; David Johnson, Esq; George Spong, Esq; Joseph F. Alexander, Esq; Benjamin Journeaux, Esq; George Howe, Esq; Thomas Fitt, Esq; Edward Fitt, Esq; George Fitt, Esq; Samuel Evans, Esq; William Corcorane, Esq; Alfred Allen, Esq; P. McCarthy, Esq; Robert Chapple, Esq; Pierce Shannon, Esq; J. W. Owens, Esq; Joseph Robinson, Esq; William Roche, Esq; Thomas Costello, Esq; John Wigglesworth, Esq; John Gleeson, Esq, TC; John Pitts, Esq; William Sheehy, Esq; An Englishman, per Mr Cruise; Archdeacon Warburton; W. Barrington, Esq, C.E; J F O'Gorman, Esq; J. A. Ievers, Esq; Thomas McGuire, Esq.