THE BEGINNING
On December 28th 1898 a Jesuit Priest invited Mrs. A.M. Sullivan, Mrs. Bury, Mrs. Egan and Mrs. Power, four ladies from the area around the St Francis Xavier Church in Gardiner Street, Dublin to a meeting to discuss the matter of excessive drinking.
His name was Fr James Cullen (1841-1921).
Fr. Cullen’s approach was to appeal to the non- drinkers. His new association would rely on people who were life long abstainers, and they, by their example, their voluntary sacrifice, and by their prayers would help those who over-indulged in alcohol.
Fr. Cullen believed that the sacrifice involved was too much to ask of men, and decided to confine the membership to women only. The four women invited to the first meeting, were the first members of the Pioneers.
By 1921, when Fr. Cullen died, there were nearly 500 Irish branches and by 1940 it had grown to 1,000, with 350,000 members. At the time of the Golden Jubilee in 1949, membership had passed the half-million mark. A big celebration Rally was held in Croke Park on June 26th 1949. Canon Hayes, founder of Muintir na Tíre, was the principal speaker.
Membership decreased in the second half of this century and today membership is reckoned to be around the 220,000 mark in Ireland, with 300,000 members outside Ireland. In fact there are branches in 35 countries world-wide. Fr. Cullen’s first meeting almost 100 years ago had an effect beyond the wildest expectations of its founders.
The Pioneer Total Abstinence Association of the Sacred Heart have published a magazine called "Pioneer" since January 1948.