The theatre disturbance surrounding Dudley Moore’s forbidden prologue shows how cultural performance could become a practical struggle over political memory, public speech and municipal influence in post-Williamite Dublin. Rather than merely reflecting party division, the episode suggests that anniversaries, printed texts and audiences helped create political loyalties in spaces outside Parliament. Its contrast with the publication of an Irish-language prayer book highlights competing uses of communication: mobilisation, persuasion and religious reform. To what extent should we view the Dublin theatre in 1712 as an emerging political public sphere, and how did its influence compare with print, church networks and institutions?