Mendel Stein was born in Dublin in 1915. Like many of the wave of Jewish emigrants who arrived in Ireland around the 1890s, the Stein family settled in Victoria Street, South Circular Road, the heart of the Jewish community. There Mendel became involved in the pursuit of his many sporting interests and, through his membership of the then strong Dublin Jewish Scouting movement, made many friends in the wider Irish scout movement. With his contemporaries, they established a wonderful campsite at Powerscourt Gardens in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow.
Mendel was educated at Kevin Street school, qualified as an ophthalmic optician and set up his popular practice in Harcourt Road in 1944. He met and married Mona Barnett in 1954. They both had a keen interest in outdoor pursuits and things visual, spending much of their spare time in art galleries. They were also regular first-nighters at the theatre, but they were happiest with their own company and travelled widely in their later years. They were a lively, handsome and dapper couple.
In 1945, together with Paddy Whelan, Mendel set up the Apollo gym, whose membership spanned a cross-section of Irish society of that time. As a result of his childhood asthma, the side effects of which he countered with assiduous physical training, he read constantly and widely on asthma and related fitness issues. This greatly informed his way of life and he keenly passed on such information. Over the years he helped a number of international athletes with their training regimes, pioneering weight training as part of their general fitness. He was active in the Dublin Maccabi Sports Club, and a member of Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club. He was an inspiration to all, training daily into his eighties. Mendel Stein was a unique individual and as stylish as his "Eye", the optician's practice that he worked from for all of his professional life. The great "Eye" comprised the whole shopfront. Those who came inside found more than eye-tests and lenses. It was a place for encounter, conversation and spirited views on the life of Harcourt Road and the universe beyond. Often people just took refuge in his practice and always got a warm welcome. His patients were like an extended family and he took a personal interest in all of them, happy to play his part in society, and adopting the role of social worker on many occasions.
He was part and parcel of the fabric of that place and time. Michael MacLiammoir and Hilton Edwards visited on their way to and from town. Harry Kernoff was another frequent neighbourhood visitor with whom he shared a common interest in art. This continued through his life and in his late seventies he attended Trinity Colleges evening lectures in the history of art.
The "Eye" became celebrated in 1985 when he refused to surrender his landmark practice to the developers who where to change the face of the area. His stand drew the support and interest of the public and gave confidence to other small businesses facing such threats. This was followed by a move to his neat, elegant shop in Grantham Street. He was joined in the practice by his daughter Amelia, with whom he enjoyed a special father-daughter bond, enjoying meeting and befriending another generation to many of whom he became a surrogate father figure.
Mona's untimely death in 1997, from cancer, was cushioned by the support of their daughter, family and many special friends young and old. Mendel passed away on June 30th 2000; this strong, gifted kind man is greatly missed by his friends and family. His example and influence will always remain.
He is survived by his best pal and daughter, Amelia. Ar dheis De go raibh a anam dilis.