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George Albert Ratigan was born in County Roscommon on 4 October 1906. He entered the Capuchin novitiate at the age of twenty-four and took Robert as his religious name. He spent the three years of his simple profession at St. Bonaventure’s Hostel in Cork and took his philosophy degree from University College Cork. He was solemnly professed as a Capuchin friar on 4 October 1934. Following four years of theological study at Ard Mhuire Friary in County Donegal, he was ordained to the priesthood in St. Eunan’s Cathedral in Letterkenny on 19 June 1938. His first assignment was in Kilkenny (1938-41) which was followed by two years with the Church Street community in Dublin. He returned to Kilkenny in 1943 and he remained there until 1952. He volunteered for missionary work in the Irish Capuchin custody in the United States in 1955. He did parish supply work in several parishes on the East Coast of the United States while stationed at St. Patrick’s Friary in Wilmington, Delaware. In 1964 he spent some time at Our Lady of Angels in Burlingame, California. From there he went to St. Joseph’s Parish in Oregon. He also conducted missions and was active in parish work in Ukiah, California, and in Roseburg, Oregon. He returned to Ireland in 1969 and was appointed once again to Kilkenny where he remained until his death on 1 February 1983. He was buried in the Capuchin plot in Foulkstown Cemetery, County Kilkenny.

Baptismal name: George Albert Ratigan
Religious name: Fr. Robert Ratigan OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 4 Oct. 1906
Place of birth: Rathmore South, Kilbride, County Roscommon (Diocese of Elphin)
Name of father: Michael Ratigan
Name of mother: Catherine Ratigan (née Doyle)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 3 Oct. 1930
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1931
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1934
Date of ordination (as priest): 19 June 1938
Educational attainments: BA (1934)
Missionary activities: Travelled to the United States mission in 1955. He returned to Ireland in 1969.
Date of death: 1 Feb. 1983
Place of death: Kilkenny
Place of burial: Foulkstown Cemetery, County Kilkenny

From the ‘Necrology of the Western American Province’ (2005):

George Ratigan was born in County Roscommon in October 1906. He took Robert as his religious name upon joining the Capuchin Order. He ministered in Ireland before coming to the United States. He did parish supply work on the east coast while stationed at St. Patrick’s Friary in Wilmington, Delaware. In 1964 he spent some time at Our Lady of the Angels parish in Burlingame. From there he went to St. Joseph’s parish in Roseburg in Oregon. He returned to Ireland in 1969 and he died in Kilkenny in 1983.

Baptismal name: Cornelius Francis Reardon
Religious name: Fr. Xavier Reardon OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 2 Feb. 1899
Place of birth: Blackrock Road, Ballintemple, County Cork
Name of father: Cornelius Reardon
Name of mother: Elizabeth Reardon (née Keane)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 17 Sept. 1916
Date of first profession: 17 Sept. 1917
Date of final profession: 14 July 1921
Date of ordination (as priest): 29 June 1925
Educational attainments: BA (1926); Higher Diploma in Education (1926)
Missionary activities: Travelled to India in 1937. He returned to Ireland in 1948. Travelled to the United States in 1960. He returned to Ireland in 1967.
Date of death: 26 Dec. 1986
Place of death: Holy Trinity Friary, Cork
Place of burial: Cemetery, Capuchin Friary, Rochestown, County Cork.

From the ‘Necrology of the Western American Province’ (2005):

Cornelius Reardon was born in Cork on 2 February 1916. His early education was with the Christian Brothers’ schools in Cork (Sullivans’ Quay and North Monastery). He completed his studies at the Capuchin Franciscan College in Rochestown, County Cork (1915-6). On 17 September 1916 he was received as a novice in the Capuchin Order, taking Xavier as his religious name. The following year, after making his simple profession, he began philosophy studies in University College Cork. He returned to Rochestown to undertake theological studies. He was ordained to the priesthood at Holy Trinity Church in Cork on 29 June 1925. His first assignment was teaching in Rochestown College (1925-6). He then served in three communities in Ireland (Kilkenny, 1929-30), (Rochestown, 1930-1), (Church Street, Dublin, 1931-7). In 1937 he volunteered for missionary work under Archbishop Sylvester Mulligan OFM Cap. in India. For eleven years he laboured under difficult conditions, returning to Ireland in 1948. In the early 1960s he travelled to the United States and worked at various ministries in St. Patrick’s Friary in Wilmington, Delaware. Here he conducted novenas and retreats. He also helped in supply work. In 1963 he transferred to the new novitiate at San Lorenzo in Mission Santa Inés in California. Here he acted as spiritual director to the novices. He returned to Ireland in 1967 and spent the last years of his life in Holy Trinity Friary in Cork. He died on 26 December 1986 and was buried in the cemetery attached to Rochestown Friary in Cork.

Baptismal name: James Rice
Religious name: Fr. Canice Rice OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 26 May 1870
Place of birth: James Street, Kilkenny (Diocese of Ossory)
Name of father: William Rice (Police Constable)
Name of mother: Jane Rice (née Kennedy)
Date of death: 23 Feb. 1896
Place of death: Church Street, Dublin

Joseph Rice was born in County Laois on 28 May 1881. He joined the Capuchin Order on 1 May 1913 and took Fidelis as his religious name. The greater part of his religious life was spent in Rochestown Friary in County Cork where he worked as a cook. However, he also spent time in the Kilkenny community where he was entrusted with the training of lay brother candidates and novices as Brother Master. He also spent shorter periods in St. Bonaventure’s Hostel in Cork and in Ard Mhuire Friary in County Donegal in the early years of these foundations. His later years were spent in St. Mary of the Angels on Church Street in Dublin. Afflicted by long periods of ill-health, he died on 9 August 1963. He was buried in the cemetery adjoining the Capuchin Friary in Rochestown in County Cork.

Baptismal name: Joseph Rice
Religious name: Br. Fidelis Rice OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 28 May 1881
Place of birth: Ardateggle, County Laois (Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin)
Name of father: Martin Rice (Farmer)
Name of mother: Mary Rice (née Heffernan)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 1 May 1913
Date of first profession: 1 May 1914
Date of final profession: 8 Sept. 1918
Date of death: 9 Aug. 1963
Place of burial: Cemetery, Rochestown Capuchin Friary, County Cork

Louis Riordan was born in Leeds in England on 15 September 1891. He joined the Irish Province of the Capuchin Franciscans in September 1911 and took Urban as his religious name. Soon after his ordination he was sent to the mission custody established by the Irish Capuchins on the west coast of the United States. He was assigned to St. Mary’s parish in Ukiah, Mendocino County, California. During his time in Ukiah, he wrote a short account on the ministry of the Irish friars in the United States. In 1929 he was transferred to the Blessed Sacrament mission in Elk, California, where he ministered until 1936. From 1941 to 1945 he was an associate pastor at Our Lady of Angels parish in Hermiston in Oregon. He returned to Ireland in 1951 and was appointed to communities in Church Street, Dublin, Holy Trinity, Cork, and the Church of St. Francis in Kilkenny. His final years were spent in the Capuchin house in Raheny in Dublin. He died on 1 November 1973 and was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin.

Baptismal name: Louis Riordan
Religious name: Fr. Urban Riordan OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 15 Sept. 1891
Place of birth: Leeds, England
Name of father: William Riordan
Name of mother: Johanna Riordan (née Ryan)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 17 Sept. 1911
Date of first profession: 17 Sept. 1912
Date of final profession: 8 July 1916
Date of ordination (as priest): 3 May 1918
Missionary assignments: Travelled to the United States in November 1919; Returned to Ireland in 1951.
Date of death: 1 Nov. 1973
Place of death: Church Street, Dublin
Place of burial: Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin

Daniel Roche was born in Newcastle West in County Limerick on 30 July 1898. He was educated in the local primary school in Newcastle West and later at the Capuchin College in Rochestown, County Cork. He entered the Capuchin Order in August 1914 and took Fintan as his religious name. He made his solemn profession as a friar in 1920. He graduated with a philosophy degree from University College Cork and studied theology at Rochestown. He was ordained a priest by Bishop Daniel Cohalan in Holy Trinity Church, Cork, on 29 June 1923. Shortly after his ordination, in October 1923, he travelled to the United States as a missionary friar. Ten years later, he became one of the pioneering missionaries in the newly established Capuchin mission territory in Barotseland in Northern Rhodesia. While in Africa, he contributed regularly to ‘The Father Mathew Record’, a popular monthly publication of the Irish Capuchins which promoted the Order’s overseas’ missions (particularly in Africa). He returned to Ireland in 1940 to engage in fundraising activities to support the Order’s missionary endeavours. A decision was made to send Fr. Fintan back to the United States in January 1944. However, he suffered a serious accident during his transatlantic passage when the ship he was travelling on encountered a severe storm. He continued to suffer from ill-health in the years following his return to America. He spent some years as Pastor in McKenzie Bridge, a picturesque if isolated region located about halfway between Roseburg and Bend in Oregon on the American Pacific coast. In 1950, he described his life in McKenzie Bridge as ‘nothing strange, weeding and Mass every day and peace’. However, his health continued to decline and following several heart attacks he left his remote rural abode in Oregon to reside in California. He died in the Capuchin Friary in Flintridge, north of Los Angeles in California on 9 May 1953.

Baptismal name: Daniel Roche
Religious name: Fr. Fintan Roche OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 30 July 1898
Place of birth: Newcastle West, County Limerick
Name of father: James Roche (Shopkeeper)
Name of mother: Anne Roche (née Downey)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 27 Aug. 1914
Date of first profession: 8 Sept. 1915
Date of final profession: 21 Mar. 1920
Date of ordination: 29 June 1923
Educational attainments: BA, 1919
Missionary activities: Travelled to the United States on 14 Oct. 1923; Travelled to Africa in 1933; Returned to Ireland in 1940; Travelled to the United States in January 1944
Date of death: 9 May 1953
Place of death: Flintridge, California

Henry Edward George Rope was a writer, poet, editor, and priest widely known in the Catholic Church for his traditionalist views. He was the elder brother of Margaret Agnes Rope, a stained-glass artist, a nephew of Ellen Mary Rope, a sculptor, and George Thomas Rope, a painter, and naturalist, as well as a cousin of M.E. Aldrich Rope, another stained-glass artist. He was ordained at St. John Lateran in Rome on 27 February 1915. He served in the Shrewsbury Diocese up until 1937, in which year, on 30 October, he took up the position of archivist in the Venerable English College in Rome. His positions as a priest included Chester St Werburgh 1915-17, Crewe 1917-18, Plowden, Shropshire 1918-24, Market Drayton 1924-25, and chaplain at Mawley Hall (near Cleobury Mortimer) 1925-37. His tenure in Rome was interrupted by the Second World War, during which he served as a chaplain at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Albrighton Hall, Shrewsbury (1940-44). He re-joined the Venerable English College and on his return to Rome after the war in 1946, again served as archivist, until December 1957. Returning to England, he settled at the Carmelite Monastery, Quidenham, Norfolk, where his sister Margaret Agnes Rope, the stained-glass artist, had died some four years previously. Due to his writings and his work as archivist at the Venerable English College in Rome, he was well known in his lifetime, particularly within church circles. He nurtured friendships with many prominent lay Catholics and clergy which in turn generated a wealth of correspondence. Aside from Benedict Williamson (1868-1948), a church architect and later Catholic priest, on whom he wrote a two-part monograph, Rope is associated with G.K. Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc, John Hawes, and many others. Henry Rope died in London on 1 March 1978 and was buried in the graveyard attached to the Church of St. Michael and the Holy Family in Kesgrave, Suffolk.

Administrative and Biographical History

The Institute of Charity is a Roman Catholic religious congregation, founded in the early nineteenth century by Antonio Rosmini. The members of the order are referred to as “Rosminians” after their founder. The Congregation was approved by the Pope Gregory XVI in September 1839. As of the year 2020 the order Congregation is divided into six provinces. These provinces are the Irish-American Province, the Province of the England, Wales and New Zealand, the Italian Province, the Indian Province, the East-African Province and the Venezuelan Province. The world headquarters of the Institute of Charity is located at Rosmini College, Porta Latina, in Rome, Italy. The leader of the Institute of Charity is referred to as the Father General or sometimes as the Provost General. There have been eleven Fathers General with Antonio Rosmini being the first. They are (with years they were Father General):

Antonio Rosmini (died 1855)
Giambattista Pagani (1855-1860)
Piettro Bertetti (1860-1874)
Giuseppi Cappa (1874-1877)
Luigi Lanzoni (1877-1901)
Bernardino Balsari (1901-1935)
Giuseppi Bozzetti (1935-1956)
Giovanni Gaddo (1956-1989)
Giambattista Zantedeschi (1989-1997)
James Flynn (1997-2013)
Vito Nardin (2013-Present)

The Father General traditionally remained in his position until his death however in more recent times, the Father General may resign at 75. If the Father General wishes to not continue a vote by the curia is held to decide if this wish can be granted.
The Irish Province was founded in 1931. The first Rosminians in Ireland were led by a missionary named Aloysius Gentili who arrived to preach in 1848. Gentili died shortly after arriving in Dublin and was buried in Glasnevin Cemetry. His remains were later moved to Omeath in county Louth close to St. Michaels School which was ran by the Institute of Charity. The Irish Province has changed boundaries numerous times and at one time or another incorporated England, the United States of America, and New Zealand. Since 2019 the province consists of the island of Ireland and three houses in Florida. The province is controlled by a provincial and a provincial council who meet to discuss matters within the province. Past provincials include:

1. Thomas Hickey (1931-1948)
2. John Hickey (1948-1955)
3. Hugh MacFadden (1955-1964)
4. Benedict Forsyth (1964-1973)
5. Bernard McNally (1973-1976)
6. Charles O Sullivan (1976-1985)
7. James Flynn (1985-1991)
8. Patrick Pierce (1991-1997)
9. Matthew Gaffney (1997-2003)
10. Joseph O Reilly (2003-2010)
11. David Myers (2010-2014)
12. Joseph O Reilly (2014-Present)

The term held in the role of provincial is currently for a period of six years before new elections take place to decide the successor.
The Institute of Charity has owned numerous buildings across Ireland throughout its history. Each building fulfilled a different function with some changing function numerous times throughout their history. The buildings whose records are included in this collection are:
• St. Michael’s, Omeath, County Louth.
• St. Joseph's School for the Blind and other Drumcondra buildings.
• St. Joseph’s, Ferryhouse, County Tipperary.
• St. Patrick’s, Upton, County Cork.
• Glencomeragh, County Tipperary.
• Kilmurry House, Kilworth, County Cork.

Omeath
St. Michaels in Omeath, Co.Louth, came into the possession of the Institute of Charity in 1901 following the death of its previous owner, Edward MacCreanor, who wished to bequeath the building to a religious congregation. The building acted as a novitiate for the Rosminians in its early days before later becoming a juniorate in 1927. The diary from St. Michaels contains some interesting events from its early days as a novitiate including a visit in August 1921 by Margaret Pearse, mother of the Easter Rising rebel Pádraig Pearse, visits by Black and Tans during the Irish War of Independence, reaction to the Anglo-Irish Treaty ratification in January 1922, and a raid by Free State soldiers in September 1922. Several improvements were made to St. Michael’s in the early days of Rosminian ownership including the installation of a new altar, the construction of the Calvary in 1908, the gifts of statues and the opening of St Michael’s as a Juniorate in 1927. In 1954 St. Michaels was recognized as a secondary school for boys, while girls were also allowed enter the school. It was primarily a boarding school however day students also were taught at the school. The school would close in 1986. The Rosminians also owned other property nearby to St. Michaels including a house in Fane Valley and numerous fields on the Cooley Peninsula. The Rosminians were also put in charge of Faughart Parish in County Louth in 1986 which they continue to run as of the year 2020.

Kilmurry House
The Rosminians bought Kilmurry House in Kilworth, Co. Cork, in 1931 after getting approval from Robert Browne, Bishop of Cloyne, to purchase the property in order to set up a novitiate. Correspondence and memorandums included in this collection relating to these negotiations with the Bishop of Cloyne highlight the processes religious congregations had to go through when wanting to purchase land in a diocese. After setting up the novitiate the Institute of Charity spent money on renovating the building as well as purchasing land nearby. The building sustained substantial damage following a fire in April 1953. The Institute of Charity sold the building in 1972. The Kilmurry House collection consists of a substantial number of letters and application forms from boys who wished to join the novitiate. These records have been arranged in alphabetical order of the boy’s names. The application forms contain information on each boy's family including the names of their parents, their addresses, the primary schools they attended, their dates of baptism, and their date of confirmation. Letters of recommendation from parish priests and family doctors are also included with the applications. The boys in their correspondence with the rector in Kilmurry explain their reasons for wanting to join the Institute of Charity and some also describe their family life and the occupations of other family members. Another important item of note is a catalogue of names of members of the Institute of Charity and students who attended the novitiate at Kilmurry House, County Cork between the years 1933 and 1937. This catalogue includes the age, rank, and the date of entry into the novitiate of those who resided there.

Glencomeragh
Glencomeragh was purchased by the Institute of Charity in 1960 and became a novitiate. A report contained in the Glencomeragh Collection describes the importance of Glencomeragh House during the founding of the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God in Ireland. While under the ownership of the Rosminians the building had heating installed while a new chapel was constructed between 1981 and 1983. The Rosminians also owned other properties near Glencomeragh House which they rented out. In later years Glencomeragh House was used by the
Institute of Charity as a retreat centre and as a House of Prayer. In later years a major upgrade in the House of Prayer was the construction of hermitages on the property’s grounds to be used by those on retreat. The Institute of Charity handed over Glencomeragh House to the Diocese of Waterford and Lismore in 2016 and it is now being ran by the Holy Family Mission as a retreat centre for young adults.

Ferryhouse
St. Joseph's Industrial School in Ferryhouse, County Tipperary was constructed by Count Arthur Moore. Completed in 1884, Moore handed over ownership of the school to the Institute of Charity shortly after the completion of the building. The Rosminians also purchased land at nearby Tickincor. The Ferryhouse collection contains important documents related to the details of boys who were placed into the care of the Institute of Charity throughout the history of the Industrial School including lists of boys who were accepted and discharged from the school and medical reports. The collection also contains examples of activities the boys carried out in the school, day trips undertaken and material from school plays.
A series of newspaper reports also explain important events which took place in St. Joseph's Industrial School including a visit by Patrick Hillery, President of Ireland, in August 1984; the opening of a £1,000,000 new complex at Ferryhouse in January 1983; reports regarding craft work and classes in arts and crafts in Ferryhouse; an early newspaper report concerning the qualifications for the teachers involved in the school, the public perceptions of institutions like the school at Ferryhouse and the training offered to the students. Items such as menus provide information on the types of food eaten by the boys in St. Josephs while newspaper articles, while reports contain information on the conditions inside the school and the types of punishments the boys faced if they disobeyed the rules.
Other associations became important to the functioning of the industrial school in Ferryhouse. This included the Resident Managers Association and the Association of Workers in Childcare. The Resident Managers Association was formed primarily by heads of religious institutions which had the responsibility for caring for neglected and poor children while the
Association of Workers in Childcare catered for residential child care workers in Ireland and was primarily concerned with the maintenance of standards of child care and of training for the profession in the country. Records relating to both associations are contained in the Ferryhouse Collection.
As well as the running of the Industrial School the Institute of Charity purchased and rented out property and land close to Ferryhouse. This included property in Laganore, Tickincor, Glenconnor, Poulboy and Clonmel. Henry Shannon and Co. solicitors from Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, assisted the Institute of Charity regarding issues that arose concerning the renting and sale of these properties. The Ferryhouse collection also includes the legal documents and folios containing the agreements and the property details of the properties owned by the Institute of Charity close to Ferryhouse.
St. Joseph's Industrial School was transferred to the Department of Education in 2002. Documentation regarding the transfer is included in the Ferryhouse collection.

St. Joseph's School for the Blind

St. Joseph's School for the Blind, now known as Childvision, is located on Gracepark Road in the Dublin suburb of Drumcondra. The school was founded by the Discalced Carmelite Order who began their work with the blind in Glasnevin in 1859 before moving to the current site in 1882. By 1953, a reduction in their personnel meant that the Carmelites were no longer able to maintain this service and the Archbishop of Dublin, who was the patron of the Carmelites, approached the Superiors of the Institute of Charity to take over the running of the school. After taking over the school the Institute of Charity expanded the facility with the construction of new buildings in the 1960s. By the 1970s a secondary school, Pobailscoil Rosmini, had been established on Gracepark Road alongside the School for the Blind. Boys who attended the School for the Blind could complete their secondary education. By the mid-2000s further expansion of the school was proposed. The Drumcondra collection contains extensive material on proposed plans, minutes of meetings and correspondence between government, contractors and the Board of the School for the Blind concerning the creation of National Centre for the Blind on the site of School for the Blind. This never materialised.
A number of other properties were owned by the Institute of Charity in Drumcondra including 2 Grace Park Gardens and 1 Grace Park Gardens. These properties were rented out to various organisations, details of which are included in the collection. Clonturk House on the Ormond Road in Drumcondra is the current provincial house of the Institute of charity in Ireland. Before becoming the provincial house, it was as a centre for blind adult men. The Drumcondra collection contains mostly administrative documentation on Clonturk House including financial documentation, a speech from the silver jubilee of Clonturk House about the history of the building, medical reports on the men who were cared for there, and mass books.

Africa
The Institute of Charity have been carrying out missionary work in the African country of Tanzania since they first arrived there in 1945. The African collection contains correspondence between the early Rosminian missionaries in Tanzania and Thomas Hickey, Provincial of the Irish Province of the Institute of Charity, describing their journeys to Tanzania, mostly by boat, the conditions they met when they arrived in Tanzania and the work, they had carried out following their arrival. A diary written by Frank Kennedy describes in detail his journey by boat and train from Dublin to Tanzania between November 1945 and December 1945. Another diary written by an unknown author documented the early days of the mission in Rangwe, Tanzania, in the arrival of Walter Dick and John Reid and the famine conditions faced in Tanzania throughout 1953. The collection also contains photographs, estimated to have been taken in the 1960s, which show examples of the missionary work being carried out in Tanzania as well as the customs and traditions of the Tanzanian people including a traditional Tanzanian wedding.
Aid was important for the continuation of the missionary work carried out by the Institute of Charity in Tanzania. There was frequent correspondence between the Rosminians and aid organisations such as Gorta and the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Irish government in order to secure aid for the missionary work. Aid contributed towards improvement in educational facilities, agriculture, the construction of mills, the construction of an arts and crafts centre, and electricity and water infrastructure. Meetings of the African Chapter were also frequently held and discussions were had on formation in Africa, preparations for religious festivals, relations with the Irish Province, and the beatification of Antonio Rosmini.

Carmelites
The Discalced Carmelites played a part in the history of the Institute of Charity. The history of the discalced Carmelites in Drumcondra and also in areas such as Glasnevin and Clondalkin have been preserved in this collection thanks to Patrick Keaveney and Vincent Corcoran, both discalced Carmelites who kept documents, items and photographs related to the Carmelites going back to 1825. The discalced Carmelites were present in monasteries in Glasnevin and Clondalkin. The oldest documents included in this collection include the transfer of obedience of the Carmelite Brothers of Clondalkin to the Archbishop of Dublin in August 1837, lists of members of the Discalced Carmelites who died in the monasteries in Drumcondra and Clondalkin between 1828 and 1963 and correspondence regarding the construction of an avenue to Glasnevin Cemetery in the 1830s on land belonging to the Carmelites. The discalced Carmelites founded St. Joseph's School for the Blind in Glasnevin before moving to Drumcondra on the site of Drumcondra Castle. The collection includes receipts containing information on construction work that was carried out in the school in Drumcondra including the construction of a staircase and of new buildings. Other documents include more personal documents belonging to Carmelite Brothers including death certificates, birth certificates, wills, and personal correspondence. The discalced Carmelites also owned properties in Dublin that they rented including properties on Prussia Street. In 1955, St. Joseph's School for the Blind was transferred to the Institute of Charity following negotiations between the Archbishop of Dublin, the Institute of Charity and the discalced Carmelites. It was agreed that the remaining Carmelites would continue to be resident in St. Joseph's following the takeover by the Institute of Charity. This collection is an important collection regarding the early history of the School of the Blind in Drumcondra and the education of blind men and boys in Ireland during the nineteenth century.

Baptismal name: James Ruth
Religious name: Fr. Carthage Ruth OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 6 Mar. 1923
Place of birth: Enniscorthy, County Wexford (Diocese of Ferns)
Name of father: William Ruth
Name of mother: Margaret Ruth (née Dobbs)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 3 Oct. 1941
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1942
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1945
Date of ordination (as priest): 16 June 1949
Educational attainments: BA (1945)
Missionary activities: Travelled to the Prefecture of Victoria Falls, Northern Rhodesia (later Zambia), in February 1950. Later, he undertook missionary work in the Archdiocese of Cape Town in South Africa. Returned to Ireland in 1971.
Date of death: 26 Dec. 2010
Place of death: Bon Secours convalescence home, Mount Desert, Cork
Place of burial: Cemetery, Rochestown Capuchin Friary, County Cork

Baptismal name: John (Patrick) Ryan
Religious name: Br. Pacificus Ryan OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 27 Aug. 1876
Place of birth: Loughane, County Cork
Name of father: John Ryan
Name of mother: Catherine Ryan (née Cronin)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 2 July 1894
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1895
Date of final profession: 31 Jan. 1903
Ministries: A newspaper report on the golden jubilee of Br. Pacificus Ryan OFM Cap. in 1944 read: ‘Born in Cork, Brother Pacificus is a member of a well-known Cork family, and has several relatives in the city and county. During his long life in the Capuchin Order, he served in Kilkenny, and for a long number of years in Dublin, returning to Rochestown over twenty years ago. He served there in the capacity of sacristan and is a very popular and highly respected figure. He is looked upon as an authority on the Rubrics and Church ceremonies’.
Date of death: 1 July 1950
Place of death: South Infirmary, Cork
Place of burial: Cemetery, Rochestown Capuchin Friary, County Cork