Rotary Great Britain & Ireland
A century of cross-border service — and the unlikely story of how Rotary outside North America took its present shape.
Where it began
The first Rotary club outside North America was the Rotary Club of Dublin, chartered on 22 February 1911 by Stuart Morrow.
By the eve of the First World War, Morrow had also chartered Rotary clubs in Belfast, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool, and Birmingham. E. Sayer Smith had chartered London and Manchester. A meeting was needed to bring this growing British and Irish family together.
The British Association of Rotary Clubs (BARC)
On 4 May 1914, representatives from Britain’s eight Rotary clubs met in London and formed the British Association of Rotary Clubs (BARC), adopting their own constitution following earlier discussions in Liverpool in October 1913. All six of Stuart Morrow’s clubs and both of E. Sayer Smith’s clubs were co-signatories. The “unofficial” Rotary Club of Brighton chose to remain independent at that point. Morrow was elected to the Board.
For the next eight years, through the First World War and its aftermath, BARC operated as an autonomous, self-governing body. Although it was not affiliated with the International Association in Chicago, it urged its member clubs to be so individually. With trans-Atlantic communication poor during the war years, BARC — not the International Association — became the face of Rotary in Britain and Ireland.
The 1922 turning point
At the Edinburgh Convention in 1921, an offer was made: in return for affiliation to the International Association, any country with 25 or more clubs could apply to become a “territorial unit” with a fair degree of self-determination.
British and Irish clubs immediately jumped at the chance — and were the only ones to do so — under the name “Rotary International: Association for Great Britain and Ireland”.
“Let her walk!”
When the proposed constitution was brought to the BARC Conference in May 1922 for local approval, it drew fierce criticism. The proposal added one extra US dollar per capita, payable to the International Association — and a vocal minority objected.
One conference speaker hadn’t arrived on time, and Sam Botsford — a senior Rotary Director from Buffalo, New York — was asked to fill in. He told the story of a southern evangelist preacher trying to encourage his congregation to support the church.
“Let her walk!” cried the congregation. “But this church has gotta run.” “Let her run!” “But even running ain’t enough — this church has gotta fly. We need to find lots of money. What are we gonna do about that?” After a moment’s silence, the congregation cried, “Let her walk!”
As the laughter died down, the delegates recognised the point. The one-dollar payment was passed unanimously. When news of BARC’s approval reached Los Angeles, the British contingent at the Convention was wildly applauded.
RIBI
With the adoption of the new constitution, BARC ceased to exist. Rotary International: Association for Great Britain and Ireland — soon known as RIBI — took its place.
In 1927 the offer of “territorial unit” status was withdrawn worldwide, leaving RIBI as the only example anywhere in the Rotary world. RIBI served the clubs of Great Britain and Ireland for over a century — autonomous, distinct, and proudly cross-border.
Rotary in Ireland is part of a longer story across these islands.
District 1160 sits within Rotary in Great Britain & Ireland — the regional grouping that has shaped Rotary on this side of the Atlantic for over a century.