Item 28 - Progress of the Temperance Movement in Dublin

1 p.; clipping

Photographic news cutting from the ‘Irish Independent’ from 12 April 1910, titled ‘Progress of the Temperance Movement in Dublin’. The article reports on the formal opening of Father Mathew Park at Fairview as a place of recreation and assembly for the public. It includes two printed snapshots: the upper halftone shows Father Aloysius Travers OFM Cap. delivering an address on a decorated platform, flanked by Mr. Gore (Solicitor) who is seated on his left, and Mr. Shane Leslie, who is standing adjacent. The lower, wide-angle halftone depicts a sprawling public crowd gathered on the lawns with Fater Peter Bowe OFM Cap. (Provincial Minister) addressing the large outdoor meeting from an elevated pulpit.

The park was located just off Windsor Avenue (near Philipsburgh Avenue) and at the rear of the Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Fairview. The Capuchins obtained possession of a three-acre field on the site. The field was used as a location for events organised by a local temperance association including outings, summer concerts, and fundraising for the poor of the parish. Notably, Father Mathew Park was later used by the Irish Volunteers for drilling and rifle practice. The Volunteers also used the park as an assembly point for the collection and storage of arms during the Howth gunrunning incident in July 1914 and later during the 1916 Rising. The association of the Capuchins with the park ceased in 1917. No trace of Father Mathew Park exists today as St. Mary’s National School was constructed on the grounds in 1953.