Slangora

Irish clubhouse

An old American slang term — now dated — for a police station.

ˈaɪɹɪʃ ˈklʌbˌhaʊshistorical233 viewsLast reviewed Jun 29, 2026+ Add a definition
🗺️ Regional & Other
2 definitions
Community

Definitions

#1·Apr 28, 2026

An old American slang term — now dated — for a police station. It played on the heavy Irish-American dominance of urban police forces in the 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly in cities like New York, Boston, and Chicago, where Irish immigrants and their descendants filled the ranks in such numbers that the precinct house became culturally synonymous with Irish identity. The term is a historical curiosity that tells you a lot about the ethnic dynamics of American law enforcement history.

In those old detective novels, every chapter has someone dragged down to the Irish clubhouse for questioning.
Origin: American slang, 19th–early 20th century; reflects the historical over-representation of Irish-Americans in city police departments during the era of mass Irish immigration following the Great Famine (1845–1852). Editorial expansion authored on Slangora (model-assisted, hedged).
Was this helpful?

Comments

#2·Apr 27, 2026

(US, dated, slang) A police station.

Was this helpful?

Comments

Have a better definition?

Add your own interpretation of "Irish clubhouse".

Add definition

Related vocabulary

Synonyms

🗺️About Regional & Other slang

Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.

See all Regional & Other slang on Slangora.

Tags

Other words near "Irish clubhouse" (I)

Browse all slang words starting with I.

Related terms

People also read

Semantically related