General Information about Lions

Some History

The Association of Lions Clubs was founded in Chicago on 7 June 1917 by a group of 12 local businessmen led by Melvin Jones. The organisation became the International Association of Lions Clubs with the formation in 1920 of a club in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The first Clubs in Europe were formed in Sweden, Switzerland and France in 1948.

For more information on Lions Clubs Internationl (as it is known for short) click on the Chicago link below.

MD 105

In 1949, London Host Lions Club was formed. District 105, covering the British Isles (the UK, the Irish Republic, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands) was founded in 1950. With the spread of Lionism throughout the District it became a Multiple District (MD) in 1961 with several Districts under its umbrella.

For more on MD 105, click on British Isles link below

District 105I

The first Club in Ireland -Dublin Lions Club - was founded in 1955, and in Belfast in 1958. The Island of Ireland became a separate district of MD105 in 1969 (but, by a strange quirk, the Isle of Man was included in the District until 1975!)

For more about 105 I, click on the link below.

Lions Links

Lions of the British Isles
Lions of Ireland
Lions HQ - Chicago