Samuel Canavan - Beadle of the Institution

Listed on eldest son's baptismal record that he was the Beadle of Dublin's House of Institution (workhouse). The scholarly article "The institution and the city: the impact of hospitals and workhouses on the development of Dublin's north inner city, c. 1773–1911" by Fennelly, Katherine describes the role of a beadle:

The most common references to staff in the workhouse (before the asylum was opened) were in reference to beadles in the eighteenth century. Beadles were a kind of bailiff who worked for the House of Industry; and could be male or female. Their job was to round up ‘sturdy’ beggars and vagrants from the street in the evening and bring them back to the House. Beadles frequently employed violence in the discharge of their duties. The head beadle appointed in 1819 was an ex-sergeant in the army, and his discipline was considered a bonus in his appointment. This is likely due to the fact that when beadles were mentioned in the historical record, it was in relation to their lack of discipline and occasional drunken behaviour.