alternatehistory.com

Before you laugh, read my post at https://groups.google.com/d/msg/soc.history.what-if/TPeHTBXHI2U/WJ_wjtLdahYJ where I quote from an American Historical Review article:

"Given the prevalent stereotypes about the Irish people's fondness for
alcohol, some will undoubtedly ask whether the phrase "Irish temperance"
is an oxymoron. But two recent scholarly books on the topic demonstrate
that the movement to abstain from alcohol was one of the most important
social developments in Ireland during the nineteenth century and had long-
lasting ramifications for both Irish and Irish-American culture. Paul A.
Townend begins by asserting that "Father Theobald Mathew's Temperance
crusade was the single most extraordinary social movement that occurred in
pre-famine Ireland" (p. 1). The number of Irish people who took the pledge
from Father Mathew is truly astounding, although exact figures are
impossible to determine, due to exaggerated crowd estimates and lapses in
record keeping at the height of the movement. John F. Quinn estimates that
over five million people took the pledge (to abstain from alcohol
entirely) from Father Mathew by the early 1840s (p. 3), a figure that
constitutes a majority of the Irish population at the time. Townend
arrives at a slightly more conservative figure, stating that by 1843 at
least half of the adult population had taken the pledge (pp. 4-5). In one
three-day visit to Limerick in 1839, Mathew gave the pledge to over
100,000 people (Quinn, p. 69). 1

Both authors stress that alcohol consumption in Ireland declined
significantly during the height of Father Mathew's crusade, as did
incidents of public drunkenness and alcohol-related crime. Quinn notes
that the number of gallons of spirits consumption declined by forty-eight
percent from 1838 to 1843, even as the population increased (p. 112). This
is a remarkable statistic, even though it does not include beer and
poteen, a popular liquor distilled at home. While there is overlap in the
two accounts, Quinn and Townend emphasize different aspects of the
movement. Quinn addresses the impact of Father Mathew's movement in both
Ireland and in the United States, while Townend focuses on the
organizational structure of the Cork Total Abstinence Society, which
Mathew came to lead, and its often strained relationship to the Catholic
Church. Both discuss the symbiotic relationship between Mathew's crusade
and Daniel O'Connell's Repeal movement in the early 1840s, which sought to
overturn the Act of Union that deprived Ireland of a separate parliament.
Both authors emphasize the ecumenical nature of Mathew's leadership,
remarkable in an era of increased sectarian strife in Ireland. Townend
argues that, by the time that the Famine occurred, the movement had
already lost critical mass, as indicated by the growing number of people
breaking their pledges, the increased national rate of alcohol
consumption, and decreased newspaper coverage. Quinn provides greater
biographical detail about Mathew and offers deeper insights about his
motivation to lead this major campaign. 2..."
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