diff --git a/configure.in b/configure.in
index b148d751..459c1466 100644
--- a/configure.in
+++ b/configure.in
@@ -124,6 +124,19 @@ AC_ARG_WITH(gc,
 	fi,
 	want_gc=no)
 
+AC_ARG_WITH(glib1,
+[  --with-glib1            Use GLIB 1.2 instead of 2.0 if both exist],
+        if test x$withval = xyes; then
+                want_glib1=yes
+        else
+                if test "x$withval" = xno; then
+                        want_glib1=no
+                else
+                        want_glib1=yes
+                fi
+        fi,
+        want_glib1=no)
+
 AC_ARG_WITH(perl-staticlib,
 [  --with-perl-staticlib   Specify that we want to link perl libraries
                           statically in irssi, default is no],
@@ -388,8 +401,13 @@ AC_DEFUN(AC_CHECK_GLIBDIR,[
 AC_CHECK_GLIBDIR
 
 if test -z "$GLIB_DIR"; then
-  dnl * check glib1 then glib2
-  checks="3 4 1 2"
+  if test "x$with_glib1" = "xyes"; then
+    dnl * check only for glib1
+    checks="1 2"
+  else
+    dnl * check glib2 then glib1
+    checks="3 4 1 2"
+  fi
 
   for try in $checks; do
     glib_config_args=