Matt Talbot

Early life – alcoholism Talbot was born on 2 May 1856 at 13 Aldborough Court, Dublin, Ireland, the second eldest of twelve children of Charles and Elizabeth Talbot, a poor family in the North Strand area. He was baptized in St. Mary's Pro-Cathedral on 5 May. His father and all but the oldest of his brothers were heavy drinkers. In 1868 Matt left school at the age of twelve and went to work in a wine merchant's store. He very soon began "sampling their wares", and was considered a hopeless alcoholic by age thirteen. He then went to the Port & Docks Board where he worked in the whiskey stores. He frequented pubs in the city with his brothers and friends, spending most or all of his wages and running up debts. When his wages were spent, he borrowed and scrounged for money. He pawned his clothes and boots to get money for alcohol. On one occasion, he stole a fiddle from a street entertainer and sold it to buy drink.

Having drunk excessively for 16 years, Talbot maintained sobriety for the following forty years of his life. There is evidence that Talbot's first seven years after taking the pledge were especially difficult. Talbot's story quickly filtered through the community, and there were many spectators when his funeral took place at Glasnevin Cemetery on 11 June 1925. In 1972 his remains were removed to a tomb in Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Seán McDermott Street, Dublin, in the area where Talbot spent his life. The Apostolic Process, the official sworn inquiry at the Vatican, began on 28 November 1947, granting Talbot the title of Servant of God. Dolan wrote two books about Matt Talbot: We Knew Matt Talbot: Visits with His Relatives and Friends (1948) and Matt Talbot, Alcoholic: The Story of a Slave to Alcohol who Became a Comrade of Christ (1947).

Legacy

Matt Talbot features in Brendan Behan’s autobiography Confessions of an Irish Rebel. Behan remembers that Talbot’s piety was widely mocked by ordinary working class Dubliners. Behan states that it was only after a concerted campaign by the Catholic Church and middle class business owners (concerned about work absenteeism due to alcoholism) that his legacy as a credible figure within the temperance movement was secured.

quote=Never be too hard on the man who can’t give up drink. It’s as hard to give up the drink as it is to raise the dead to life again. But both are possible and even easy for Our Lord. We have only to depend on him. — Matt Talbot

The Matthew Talbot Hostel for homeless men in Sydney, Australia is named after him.

Graham Linehan has stated that the character of Matty Hislop in his comedy series Father Ted was intended to be a satire of Matt Talbot. Derek Warfield of The Wolfe Tones recorded a song "Matt Talbot" about Talbot.

Talbot's remains were removed from Glasnevin Cemetery to Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church on Seán McDermott Street, Dublin in 1972. The tomb has a glass panel through which the coffin may be seen.

There is a small plaque in Granby Lane at the site of Matt Talbot's death. Prior to the current plaque on the Eastern side of the lane, a small brass cross was inlaid in a stone wall on the Western side of the lane.

In August 1971 Archbishop John Charles McQuaid unveiled a plaque to Talbot at a block of flats known as 'Matt Talbot Court' due to it being on the same site as one of Talbot's residences. President Éamon de Valera and Fine Gael leader Liam Cosgrave attended the ceremony.

The Talbot Association, founded in 1970 in honour of Matt Talbot, is the biggest provider of residential services for people experiencing homelessness in Glasgow, Scotland. The association helps support the city’s most vulnerable people: those facing the complex realities of addiction, mental ill-health, social isolation, and long-term instability.