Abstract

This study examines the ideology, organisation methods and activities of the Society of St Vincent de Paul in the diocese of Dublin from 1926 to 1975. It looks at how the Society expanded its range of services over this period, despite the change from conditions of great hardship in the 1920s to relative prosperity by the 1970s. As a lay Catholic organisation, whose stated aim was the sanctification of its members through works of charity, it attempted to express its identity in new ways following the Second Vatican Council. How the Society, a charity among many and often described as composed of middle-aged and middle income members, continued to survive and to maintain the goodwill and financial support of the public will also be examined.