ThePioneer Total Abstinence Association of the Sacred Heart (PTAA) is an international organisation forCatholicteetotalers based inIreland. Its members are commonly calledPioneers. While not advocating legalprohibition, it requires its members to completely abstain from alcohol. It also encourages devotion to theSacred Heart ofJesus as an aid to resisting thetemptation of alcohol. Pioneers wear alapel pin called aPioneer pin with an image of the Sacred Heart, both to advertise the organisation and to alert others not to offer them alcohol. The association publishes a monthly magazine,The Pioneer.
The PTAA was founded in 1898 byJames Cullen, in response to widespreadalcoholism among Irish Catholics as the earliertemperance movement ofFather Mathew was fading from memory.[1] In the 20th Century, the termPioneer became synonymous with teetotalism among Irish Catholics, and the PTAA influenced public policy. In 1923,Eoin O'Duffy as Commissioner of theGarda Síochána (Civic Guard) encouraged members to join the PTAA, and allowed Gardaí to wear the Pioneer pin on their uniforms, in exemption to a general ban on symbols and adornments.[2] TheIrish Defence Forces also allow its personnel to wear the Pioneer pin on their uniforms, one of only two civilian symbols allowed to be worn in uniform, the other being theFáinne. By 1948, the PTAA claimed 360,000 members.[3] In 1956, aCommission of Enquiry into thelicensing laws in theRepublic of Ireland was appointed by theMinister for Justice,James Everett; the PTAA nominated one of the 22 members, John K. Clear.[4] Clear assented to the majority report of the Commission, which favoured easing the (widely disregarded) restrictions on opening hours ofpublic houses introduced in 1925, although the Catholic hierarchy subsequently opposed the resultingAct.[5]
Roman Catholic children in Ireland who make theirConfirmation (typically at the age of 11–12) are encouraged to promise, or "take the pledge", not to drink alcohol until they are at least 18 (thelegal drinking age in Ireland). The PTAA is active in this drive, and encourages teenagers, particularly inreligious-run secondary schools, to join the PTAA and "keep the pledge". In train with the growingsecularisation of Irish society, members of the association are increasinglyolder people. Younger Catholics who choose not to drink alcohol are unlikely to belong to the PTAA.
The PTAA does not strive to simply stop people from drinking. It also aims to create opportunities for fun and social activities without the need for the presence of alcohol. It organises many competitions, such as table quizzes,Réadóirí (a talent competition;Réadóirí is theIrish word for Pioneers), and sports. Local centres (parishes or schools) compete in these competitions at regional (against local parishes), diocesan, provincial and all-Ireland level. The Pioneers also run two annualseminars, one for young pioneers (13-18), and one for older Pioneers (18+).
The Association issued an appeal for funds from its website in April 2011 in an effort to prevent closure because of the organisation's indebtedness.[6][7]