Residents and Politicians Fight to Keep Irish Social Club Open

Both State Rep. Ed Coppinger and West Roxbury District Councilor Matt O'Malley are working on keeping the of Boston open after it .

Both politicians have received calls from concerned constituents about the club that has been open for 65 years.

Residents have voiced concerns about whether the property will be sold, or if the club will be dissolved. Coppinger pointed out that with the Irish Social Club being a non-profit organization, Massachusetts General Law 180 Section 11A requires a majority vote of the non-profits board to dissolve the organization. The organization gained non-profit status in 1977 according to GuideStar.

The law reads as follows: 

"A charitable corporation may seek voluntary dissolution after an affirmative vote by a majority of the board of directors. The charity can then file a petition for dissolution with the Supreme Judicial Court making the Attorney General a party to the petition. This is the sole method by which a charity may voluntarily dissolve in Massachusetts."

Both Coppinger and O'Malley said they have reached out to the Boston Fire Department so the organization could get an extension on being able to meet fire codes. The Irish Social Club's lawyer, Paul Kilgarriff, told Patch that pressure from the Boston Fire Department and the State of Massachusetts to install a new, expensive fire detection and sprinkler system influenced the club to close.