Mattress Mick

PHOTOGRAPHED ON SOUTH RICHMOND STREET

Michael Flynn (born 1950/1951), also known as Mattress Mick, is an Irish businessman. He is the owner of Mattress Mick, a chain of mattress stores in Ireland.

During the occupation of Apollo House, Flynn provided mattresses to the homeless people occupying the building. As part of his business, Flynn has run the Mick’s Community Chest initiative, which donates a sum of money to a charity every month.

Flynn endorsed Jennifer Carroll MacNeill during the 2019 Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council election. Flynn revealed he had been approached to run for Dublin City Council with the aim of becoming Lord Mayor of Dublin, but he declined to run. He denied rumours that he was planning to run in the 2018 Irish presidential election, but has said he may run in the next presidential election in 2025.

South Richmond Street is at the same time interesting and ugly mainly because there are so many buildings that are derelict or in very poor condition. [Note: many of the derelict buildings have recently been demolished]

The 1837 Ordnance Survey map showed one building on the western side of Richmond St. (excluding property belonging to the Portobello Hotel), which corresponds to no. 34, which was the Caroline Records shop (closed in 2003).

The hotel at the nearby harbour was opened in 1807 (the architect was James Colbourne). In 1858 it was taken over by a Catholic order of nuns, who used it as an asylum (St. Mary’s) for blind girls. A few years later they successfully appealed to the Guardians of the South Dublin Union for some finance (it cost £10 to keep a girl for a year), though the Irish Times in an editorial frowned upon this proselytising by “Romanists”, while they lauded the efforts of the Protestant-run “Home for Orphans” at 7 South Richmond Street (which advertised frequently for “fresh souls to save” in the same newspaper).

Ten years later the Asylum was sold to a Mr. Isaac Cole, who renovated it and returned it to its original function as a hotel, to accommodate 100 persons. It was popular among officers visiting the nearby Portobello Barracks (who would occasionally pop across South Richmond Street to the Grand Canal Tavern for a drink) and claimed it was the nearest hotel to the Royal Dublin Society grounds. However, it was slow in providing catering facilities – in 1871 a Rathmines businessman, in a letter to the Irish Times, lamented the absence of restaurants in the neighbourhood, and enjoined upon Mr. Cole to provide same, preferably a two-course meal for two shillings (the price to include beer and punch).