Father Theobald Mathew (1790-1856) was an Irish priest who started a movement where people would pledge total abstinence from alcohol. At its height, the temperance movement enrolled three million people, representing more than half the adult population of Ireland. The Father Mathew movement became popular on the other side of the Atlantic as well. I believe a number of victims of the Mud Run Disaster were members of the Father Mathew Society. If you want to know a bit more, you can do a search on Amazon.com and there are two recent books on Father Mathew (remember, one "t" and it's his surname), though they are both a little pricey. There's also an out-of-print 1945 biography that's available used. If that's a bit of overkill, another option is to go to the NY Times' website (_www.nytimes.com_ (http://www.nytimes.com) ) and check out their archive under "father theobald mathew." There are a number of hits that provide some background information, including a review of the 1945 biography. If you are a New York Times subscriber, you can get something like 100 downloads per month at no additional charge. There is a charge for everyone else, but I don't believe it's very high. Hope this helps. Neal Moran **************Ideas to please picky eaters. Watch video on AOL Living. (http://living.aol.com/video/how-to-please-your-picky-eater/rachel-campos-duffy/ 2050827?NCID=aolcmp00300000002598)