Description

The Celtic Club is a welcome home for diaspora of Irish and Celtic heritage, and of the emigrant story more broadly.

The Wild Geese (formerly Sarah Sands Hotel), home to the Melbourne Celtic Club, is a Georgian-style hotel on the corner of Brunswick and Sydney Roads, representing a significant chapter in Irish-Australian history.

Established in 1854, its moniker comes from the Sarah Sands steam ship that landed in Melbourne during the Gold Rush era. The hotel’s original licensee, Robert Barry, was rumoured to have been on board the ship.

In July 1896 and 1897, riots took place outside the hotel when Irish Catholics protested at a parade organised by Protestant Orangemen to mark the anniversary of the Protestant King William of Orange’s victory over the Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland in 1690.

The pub had many incarnations. For a time it served as an adult club in the 1980s, before rebranding to long-standing Irish institution Bridie O’Reilly’s in 1997.

In 2020, Jackson Clements Borrows was engaged to redevelop the site, designing a seven-storey mixed-use development and retaining and refurbishing the hotel, which once again became the Sarah Sands. 

In 2023, the Sarah Sands was acquired by Australia’s longest-running Irish club, the Celtic Club, as its permanent venue and clubhouse. The hotel underwent a half-a-million-dollar refurbishment by Mitchell & Eades, rebranding as The Wild Geese – a term for Irish diaspora.

The heritage-listed building itself represents a significant chapter in Irish-Australian history, and is an example of heritage preservation and contemporary design. As a space that provides a welcome home for celtic diaspora and emigrants more broadly, The Wild Geese demonstrates how the built environment can support a culture of openness, offering space, care and possibility to the people.

What's On

As the site of Australia's oldest Irish club (formed 1887), this is an exclusive opportunity for the public to access members-only areas of the club.

Visitors are invited to join a tour through the ground-floor Irish-influenced bistro and the members-only upstairs space, which features a bar, whiskey lockers, library and meeting rooms. The tour will also include the opportunity to view archives and cultural artefacts retained onsite.

Tour finish times will coincide with Sunday lunch service, with traditional Irish fare.

In Collaboration With:

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  Peter Gavin

  Peter Gavin is the Chair of the Cultural and Heritage Committee of the Celtic Club, and was also Club Secretary for many years.