Today is the 92nd anniversary of Matt Talbot's death.
Without getting into extensive detail as provided in biographies, we post the content from the Dublin Diocesan Matt Talbot
Website: http://www.matttalbot.ie/.
Matt's Ultimate Victory
“Trinity Sunday, the 7th June 1925, was the hottest day of a heat wave that had gripped the country since the previous week. Matt as usual had attended the 5.30am Mass in Gardiner St. and went to Holy Communion with the men of his Sodality at 8.00am Mass. After Mass he returned to Rutland Street to have his usual meagre breakfast, one of his neighbours thought he looked poorly and advised him to take a little rest. Matt admitted that he was feeling a little weak but a half an hour later Matt came down again; he smiled at his neighbour, said he felt all right and was going on to the 10am Mass in Dominick Street.
He
always hurried to Mass. Around two sides of Mountjoy Square, along Gardiner
Place, past Belvedere College, down Gardiner Row and along the North side of
Parnell Square he was now just a few minutes away from his goal, the Dominican
Church. Turning into Granby Lane, a short cut to the Church, he stumbled and
collapsed. Passers by came to his aid people coming from an earlier Mass in
Dominick called for a priest, a nurse and a Guard were on the scene.
An
eye witness account from Noel Carroll, who was a young boy at the time, recalls
how his father who was manager of a chemist's shop at Bolton Street, would
generally attend the 10am Mass on Sunday mornings in Dominick Street. On some
Sundays he would take Noel along with him. Though he was only eight and a half
years at the time he remembers that Sunday morning June 7th 1925 very
well.
He
describes how it was a very sunny morning as he and his father turned into
Granby Lane they noticed a lot of excitement centred around a man lying on the
ground. Noel's father, being a chemist, went over to give First Aid; Noel
observed his father as he opened the stud of the man's shirt-collar. By now a
large crowd had gathered. The chemist instructed the people to stand back. As
they did Noel got a good look at the man. He had no collar or tie, and wore a
grey suit. Noel recalls that as the man closed his eyes and died the bell for
Mass had begun to ring it was about 9.40am. It is quite conceivable that the
last sound which Matt heard was the Vox Dei, the voice of God's call to the
Banquet of the Eucharist, a call that Matt had been so faithful to during his
life now beckoned him to its fulfillment in heaven. If Matt had known that
morning what was going to happen he would not have worn the chains. Little did
he realise that they would be the way in which God would reveal the hidden
aspects of his life of holiness to the world.”