Reports of the MansionHouse Committee for the Relief of Distress in Ireland; and of the Central Relief Committee (1862)

During the 1861 to 1863 famine, a number of committees that had previously assisted the poor revived. One of the most prominent of these was the Mansion House Committee, which operated in 1862. ¹ Its origins lay with an extraordinary meeting convened by Dublin Corporation on 26 November 1861. Two resolutions were passed: the first asking the Lord Lieutenant to promote public works, the second, requesting the Lord Mayor to reconvene the Mansion House Committee. While the Lord Lieutenant was dismissive of their appeal, suggesting that private charity and the Poor Law would meet any distress, a new Mansion House Committee was formed. ² As was the tradition it was presided over by the Lord Mayor of Dublin Denis Moylan. Paul Cullen. Catholic Archbishop of Dublin was also a member. ³ The Committee closed its operations in August 1862.