Pioneers are presented with their pins
THERE were scenes of celebration in a local church recently when a number of parishioners were acknowledged for their dedication and commitment to the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association (PTAA).
The ceremony took place in Monageer Church where members of the PTAA were presented with Golden Jubilee pins in the presence of Fr William Cosgrave.
Among the recipients at the ceremony were Paddy Doran, Breda O’Loughlin, Nicky Furlong, Margaret Sheridan and Maura Doyle, who are all from the general Monageer area.
It was a very enjoyable ceremony that was attended by parishioners and members of the recipients’ respective families.
The recipients were delighted to accept their pins and Fr Cosgrave congratulated them all on their achievement and dedication to the PTAA movement.
The main aim of the PTAA is to promote sobriety and temperance.
Pioneers work towards achieving that goal through faith, prayer and self-denial, and in doing so provide inspiration to those around them in their communities.
The PTAA was established by Fr James Cullen SJ in the Church of St Francis Xavier in Gardiner Street, Dublin on December 28, 1898.
Fr Cullen was born in New Ross in 1841 and he entered the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1881.
He was a man who was always concerned about social issues and was motivated to establish the PTAA in an effort to address the enormous amount of damage being done to Irish society towards the end of the 19th century and turn of the 20th century.
Drinking to access was causing many different problems in society and one of the things Fr Cullen noticed was how many workers were also heavy drinkers, with this putting a strain on weekly earnings and household incomes.
Witnessing first-hand the destitution caused by excessive drinking, particularly for women and children, he felt that as a rule, women deserved exceptional sympathy ‘ because they were the greatest sufferers in the wreckage caused by drink’.
He decided to take action and formulated the idea of the PTAA.