For most Dubliners, YMCA might mean the Village People hit which has been reverberating on the airwaves and in the pubs since 1978. But the City of Dublin Young Men's Christian Association has been working in the city since 1849, with an astonishing record of achievement.
The world's first YMCA was founded in London to develop young men physically, mentally and spiritually in a Christian, non-denominational setting. City of Dublin YMCA was the second branch to be started.
In Dublin in 1916 it was YMCA members who provided comfort and assistance to prisoners arrested after the Rising, including the leaders on the eve of their execution.
At its former premises in Abbey Street it hosted Sunday choral services, Christian debates and an educational programme. It opened a hostel in Mountjoy Square in 1910, another in Rathmines in 1941 and a third in Parkgate Street in 1946. It ceased operating hostels in the mid 1970s.
Worldwide, the YMCA has some notable achievements to its credit. The Red Cross was founded by the YMCA in Geneva. On a lighter note, YMCA clubs in the United States invented the games of basketball and volleyball.