Reflections on Work and Workers

These links are provided for reflection on work and workers today in the USA and nearly a century ago in Matt Talbot's Dublin.

The first link is a personal reflection by Deacon Keith Fournier on the Catholic Church's perspective on the dignity, meaning, and redemptive value of all human work.

See http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=29071

In keeping with their annual Labor Day tradition, the US Bishops have released the following statement on the dignity of human work: http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=29072

Life, work, and workers were significantly different during Matt's lifetime.The first link provides a perspective on various themes in Dublin in 1911, when Matt was a 55 year old labourer with 27 years of sobriety: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/exhibition/index.html

This link, The 1913 Strike and Lockout, is self-explanatory.

Matt Talbot's listing in the 1911 Dublin census

The National Archives of Ireland has information online about the 1901 and 1911
census, which "are the only surviving full censuses of Ireland open to the public."
This census was taken in April 1911, and includes the names of Matt Talbot and his mother, Elizabeth. Basic information about how this census was conducted is available at http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/help/about19011911census.html



Following the death of Charles Talbot, Matt's Father, in 1899, Matt and his mother lived together in one basement room at #18 Upper Rutland Street, Dublin, from 1903 until her death in 1915. Matt continued to live there alone until his death in 1925.
In viewing this next link, look to the right of the document under "Families" and then down to the eighth name under "head of household." You will find Elizabeth Talbot's name along with one other unidentified family member. That other family member is Matt.
Besides the Talbot's you will see that there were five other families totally 16 persons who lived in one or two rooms per family at this address.
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000062108/




This link shows the typed names and ages of Elizabeth and Matt at the time of the census.
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Dublin/Mountjoy/Rutland_Street__Upper/23750/



This link provides handwritten information about the Talbot's. You will note that Matthew is spelled with only one "t." Under "Education," "read and write" is filled in for Matt and "neither" is listed for his mother. Two other categories indicate that both are Roman Catholic and Matt a "labourer."(A separate document from this census indicates that all families living at this address were Roman Catholic.)

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000062254/

Dublin in 1911

In order to begin to understand the world in which Matt Talbot lived in 1911 and the decade ahead of significant historical changes in Dublin and Ireland, The National Archives of Ireland have put together online, in text and photographs, fifteen themes of life at that time. Matt is specifically mentioned in a few of these themes.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/exhibition/index.html