Showing 25 results

A pair of gold candlesticks gifted to Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC. The base of the candlesticks are engraved: ‘Very Revd. T. Mathew President / Very Rev. J.J. Murphy Vice-President / Cork Total Abstinence Benefit Society / AD January 1842’.

Printed photographic album relating to the commemorations of the centenary in 1938 of the inauguration by Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC of his temperance campaign. Includes images of celebrations and services in St. Mary of the Angels, Church Street, Dublin, Holy Trinity Church, Cork, and at Thomastown Castle, County Tipperary. Reprint of a photographic supplement in 'The Capuchin Annual' (1939), pp 177-208. The cover shows a bust of Fr. Mathew by John Hogan ‘Fra. Theobald Mathew, Ord. Cappuccin / J. Hogan fecit, 1834’.

Silver memorial plaque presented to Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC. The inscription reads:
‘Presented to the Very Rev. Theobald Mathew by Messrs Dugdale and McClean in the name of the Catholic and Scottish Union for the Suppression of Intemperance / Patronized by the Right Hon. The Earl of Stanhope in token of their esteem for him as the honoured instrument under God for the Destruction of Intemperance and the Moral Renovation of Mankind / 29th Sept. 1847’.
The obverse shows a man and woman either side of a shield. The man bears a banner with the words ‘sobriety’. The woman bears a banner with the words ‘Domestic Comfort’. The shield is flanked with a ribbon with the words ‘Peace on Earth and Good Will to Men / Be Thou Faithful to Death’.

A wooden crucifix used by Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC. The underside of the base has a manuscript annotation: ‘Father Mathew’s Cross, used in his sick calls &c and in cholera cases, 1831-2’.

D.F. Giltinan was honorary secretary of the Father Mathew Centenary Committee and was also secretary to the Lord Mayor of Cork. The file includes:
• Letter from John O’Sullivan, St. Patrick’s Catholic Total Abstinence League, to D.F. Giltinan re his valuable services in the cause of total abstinence in Cork. 30 Nov. 1887.
• Invitation cards to D.F. Giltinan to the National Celebration of the Centenary of Father Mathew in Cork on 9-15 October 1890. Includes invitations to the centennial oration given by Sir John Pope Hennessy (1834-1891) and religious ceremonies in Holy Trinity Church in Cork. Printed and manuscript, 5 pp.
• Letter from Fr. Paul Neary OSFC to D.F. Giltinan re a gift of a small case of relics as a mark of gratitude for his services in connection with the Fr. Mathew centenary celebrations. 6 Oct. 1891.
• Notes for a speech given by D.F. Giltinan at a meeting of the Father Mathew Centenary Committee.
• Notice to D.F. Giltinan from Fr. Paul Neary OSFC re the final meeting of the Father Mathew Centenary Committee on 18 Oct. 1891.
• Letters from D.F. Giltinan to Henry McConnell, 42 Great Brunswick Street, Dublin, re an unpaid bill of quantities in connection with the completion of the Father Mathew Memorial (Holy Trinity) Church, Cork. 25 Mar. 1893-18 Aug. 1893.
• The file also includes a cover letter from Nora Giltinan referring to an enclosed poem written by her deceased brother ‘which may be of use for the columns of the “Father Mathew Record”’. 17 July 1931.

A pledge medal of the Dublin Total Abstinence Association dating to 1840. The front (face) shows the Good Shepherd. The outer-rim inscription reads ‘I have found the sheep that was lost Luke Chap. 15 v. 6’. The obverse has a cruciform text of the pledge and reads: ‘I have voluntarily promised in the presence of the Revd. Dr. Spratt to abstain from all spiritous liquors and intoxicating drinks except used medicinally and then by order of a medical man and the discountenance of all the vices and practices of intemperance and also to attend to my religious duties’. The outer-rim inscription reads ‘The Dublin Total Abstinence Pledge The Very Revd. Dr. Spratt Patron 1840’. The maker of the medal was J. Taylor.

• Photographic print (on card) of a portrait of Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC. The print is by William Lawrence, portrait painter and photographer, Dublin. 16.5 cm x 10.5 cm. 2 copies.
• Photographic print (on card) of the Father Mathew statue in the workshop of Mary Redmond (1863-1930) before its installation on Sackville (O’Connell) Street, Dublin, in 1893. 16.5 cm x 12 cm. (See image above).
• Copy engraving of Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC. 25 cm x 17 cm. Printed.
• Photographic print of the plaque on Cove Street, Cork, commemorating Fr. Mathew’s residence in a house (No. 8) on that street. The plaque was erected by Cork Corporation in 1980. 15 cm x 10 cm. Colour print.
• Cutting of a cartoon titled ‘The cause of the high death-rate / The Working-man’s Sunday’ showing ‘as it was spent before the Sunday Closing Act’ and ‘as it is spent now in unwholesome quarters of the city – as the working-man must get his beer’. [c.1890]. 1 p.
• Photographic print of the Father Mathew statue on O’Connell Street, Dublin, in c.1955. Ink stamp on reverse reads ‘Irish Tourist Board Photo’. 25.5 cm x 17.8 cm.
• Copy print (on card) of Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC. 25.5 cm x 20 cm.

A decorative silver trowel commemorating the laying of the top-stone of the Father Mathew Statue on Sackville (O’Connell) Street, Dublin, on 13 Oct. 1890. The inscription on the trowel reads:
‘The Father Mathew Centenary / Presented to the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor of Dublin on the occasion of the laying of the top stone of the pedestal of statue to the Great Apostle of Temperance Rev. Theobald Mathew. Signed on behalf of the Committee / Charles A. Cameron FRCSI, Archibald J. Nicolls LLB, George Noble Plunkett, Henry Wigham. Hon. Secs., Central Committee, Mansion House, Dublin, 13th Oct. 1890’. The silver is hallmarked.

Father Mathew Temperance Medal
c.1840-1850
Diameter: 4.4 cm
Silver Medal
Physical description:
• Face (front): Fr. Mathew addresses the kneeling crowd. Outer rim inscription reads ‘May God bless you and grant you grace and strength to keep your promise.
Obverse: Outer edge inscription reads ‘Dedicated to the Very Rev. Theobald Mathew. Centre: ‘Whose / exertions / have laid the / foundation of his country’s happiness / and merited / the admiration / of mankind’.
A green and white ribbon in the form of a crucifix (with pin) is attached.

Total Abstinence Society Medal
c.1840-1850
Diameter: 4.4 cm
Silver Medal
Physical description:
• Face (front): Man and woman on pedestal on which two children are seated. The adults carry a shield surmounted by a cross, with an angel above. The upper part of the shield has a lamb bearing a banner. The man bears a banner with the words ‘sobriety’. The woman bears a banner with the words ‘Domestic Comfort’. Outer-edge inscription reads: ‘In hoc signo vinces’.
Obverse: Cruciform text of pledge. Outer edge inscription reads: ‘Total Abstinence Society, The Very Rev. T. Mathew, President’.
A green ribbon with pin is attached.

Total Abstinence Society Medal
1840
Diameter: 4.4 cm
Silver Medal in Glass
Physical description:
• Face (front): Man and woman on pedestal on which two children are seated. The adults carry a shield surmounted by a cross, with an angel above left of the cross. The upper part of the shield has a lamb bearing a banner. The man bears a banner with the words ‘sobriety’. The woman bears a banner with the words ‘Domestic Comfort’. Outer-edge inscription reads: ‘In hoc signo vinces’.
Obverse: Cruciform text of pledge encircled by title of society, president (Fr. Theobald Mathew), and the date of foundation (10 Apr. 1838).
A large green ribbon is attached with the following embroidered text ‘F ✙ M / 1840 / God Save Ireland’. The ribbon is partially torn. Very careful manual handling is required.

Medal of the Army Temperance Association, India
1862
Oval-shaped silver medal
4 cm x 3 cm
Physical Description:
• Medal of the Soldiers’ Total Abstinence Association in India. The inscription the face reads ‘Watch and be sober’. Inscription the obverse reads ‘The Association Medal for Fidelity India’.
Note: After 1902 the Victoria Memorial Medal was adopted and used by Indian Organisations of the Royal Army Temperance Association as a Two-Year Medal.

Temperance Medal Ribbon
1889
Physical Description:
• A green ribbon with silver crucifix attached bearing the inscription ‘Presented to the Very Rev. Fr. Columbus [Maher] OSFC / President / Feb. 1889’. The ribbon would have been originally attached to a temperance medal. Fr. Columbus Maher OSFC (1835-1894) was President of the Father Mathew Temperance Association attached to St. Mary of the Angels, Church Street, Dublin.

Colour print showing Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC administering the pledge (probably at the Custom House, Dublin). The caption reads: ‘The Very Revd. Theobald Mathew / Administering the Temperance Pledge / I promise to abstain from all intoxicating drinks &c except used medicinally, and by order of a medical man, and to discountenance the cause and practice of intemperance / Prayer / May God bless you and enable you to keep your promise’. The frame backing has a printed flier from the ‘Association of Men of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus / Church of St. Kevin, Harrington Street, A.D. 1914’.