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An original total abstinence pledge card of Charles Doherty dated 7 Nov. 1847. The card is signed by Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC. With a cover letter (1 Aug. 2001) from Liam O’Connell referring to this item. The letter notes that his ancestor (Charles Doherty) took the pledge in St. Peter’s Pro-Cathedral in Belfast. He also encloses an advertisement from Cantrell & Cochrane, Mineral and Aerated Water Manufacturer, referring to the Apostle of Temperance [c.1900].

An original total abstinence pledge card of Anne Burke dated 19 Mar. 1840. The card is signed by Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC.

An original total abstinence pledge card of James Keegan dated 3 Mar. 1840. The card is signed by Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC.

The sub-series contains an important collection of original temperance society medals. Most of the medals in the collection are associated with Fr. Mathew’s campaign but some relate to temperance activities before and after him. The Cork Total Abstinence Society’s medals were important because they served as important reminders of the pledge, and also as miniature temperance catechisms for the many illiterates who took the pledge. Fr. Mathew’s medals were large and inscribed with familiar religious symbolism. Most were of pewter, although some silver and gold medals were also available for particularly distinguished members. Generally, one side had the words of the pledge within a shining cross, together with Fr. Mathew’s name and the Society’s founding date (10 April 1838). The reverse depicted a well-dressed man, carrying a banner, ‘prosperity’, and a woman, ‘domestic comfort’, stood next to a lamb, surmounted by a cross and an angel. This scene was overlaid by the Latin phrase, In hoc signo vinces (‘by this sign shall you conquer’).

List compiled by Fr. P. MacNamara of members of the temperance society in the parish of Clonmacnoise, King’s County (416 adults and 188 under the age of 21). Includes a separate listing of individuals (with addresses) of those who have taken the pledge. With a cover letter (28 Nov. 1911) to Fr. Benedict Phelan OSFC

An original total abstinence certificate of William Hook dated 22 Mar. 1840. The certificate is signed by Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC.

A copy report of a temperance procession held in Cork at Easter in 1842. The report provides a list of temperance societies and bands which marched on this occasion. The report may have been transcribed from a newspaper report published during the Father Mathew centenary celebrations in 1890. The report also has a copy of the ‘Centenary Ode’ composed for Fr. Mathew by Eugene Davis which was recited by Fr. Michael O’Flynn, CC, Saint Peter and Saint Paul’s Church, during the commemorations.