The Catholic Boys’ Brigade was founded by Fr. Benvenutus Guy OSFC (1860-1927), a Capuchin friar, in March 1894. Mainly composed of impoverished children from the Church Street area, the organisation was initially called St. Joseph’s Boys’ Brigade. The stated objects of the Brigade were ‘to crush vice and evil habits among boys, to instruct them thoroughly in the Christian doctrine … to give them habits of obedience, discipline, and self-respect and love for ecclesiastical authority and holy religion and to promote their moral, physical and temporal well-being’. The idea of forming a Brigade for the Catholic boys of Dublin sprung from the success achieved by the Protestant Boys’ Brigade. The first meeting hall of the Brigade was in a house in Smithfield which was rented at 5s per week. This meeting was held on 24 April 1894 with nine boys in attendance. The organisation grew rapidly. The Brigade Hall was soon relocated to a property (formerly a smelting foundry) at 156 Church Street which was purchased for the sum of £300. The organizing committee also succeeded in obtaining the use of an old vegetable market at the rear of the Hall which was used as a drill yard in 1895. The newly furnished hall and gallery could hold 1,500 attendees. A uniform was supplied to each enrolled boy consisting of a sash, a cap and a badge. An important aspect of the Brigade’s activities was physical exercise and participants routinely trained in ‘physical drilling, figure marching, squad and company drills’. A band was also established under the supervision of Fr. Sebastian O’Brien OSFC (1867-1931). A night-school for instructing illiterate young boys was founded in October 1899 and soon attracted thirty-five students. Religious instruction was supplied by the Capuchin friars. This was initially performed by Fr. Benvenutus Guy OSFC and later by Fr. Paul Neary OSFC (1857-1939). In 1904 the Church Street Capuchins transferred trusteeship of the properties owned by the Catholic Boys’ Brigade to lay stewardship.
Schedule containing statements showing the ‘number of persons who, prior to the disaster, resided in Nos. 66 and 67 (the houses were completely demolished), the number killed, injured, and left homeless. The statement also includes the number killed and injured in house No. 64, and the amount of grants given’.
Schedules containing statements showing the ‘number of persons who, prior to the disaster, resided in Nos. 66 and 67 (the houses were completely demolished), the number killed, injured, and left homeless. The statement also includes the number killed and injured in house No. 64, and the amount of grants given’. Other schedules refer to the number of persons who vacated adjoining properties ‘through a reasonable sense of fear at the collapse of the houses 66 and 67 …’ and other relief actions to be taken.
Photographic print of several friars (including Fr. Paul Neary OSFC) in the garden of the Church Street Friary. The image is also extant in the Glass Plate Negative and Lantern Slide collection (see CA PH/1/7).
A photographic print of the garden of the Capuchin Friary on Church Street. Two friars, Fr. Angelus Healy OFM Cap. and possibly Fr. Edward Walsh OFM Cap., are shown in the image. The print shows nearly the full extent of the old friary garden, with the rear of Father Mathew Hall fronting onto Church Street beyond. The photographic studio is credited to C. and L. Walsh, 55 Lower Mount Street, Dublin.
Photographic print of the garden of the Church Street Friary. Two friars are seen standing in the garden with one of them cutting the grass. Father Mathew Hall can be seen behind the friars. The image is also extant in the Glass Plate Negative and Lantern Slide collection (see CA PH/1/23/D).
An image of a group of Capuchin Friars in the garden of St. Mary of the Angels, Capuchin Friary, Church Street, Dublin. One of the friars is identifiable. The friar (second on the left) is Fr. Paul Neary OFM Cap. (1857-1939). An annotation on the cover gives the location of the photograph.
A view of two Capuchin friars in the garden of St. Mary of the Angels, Church Street, Dublin. One of the friars is cutting the lawn grass. With cover annotation.
Photographic print of the Capuchin sale of work possibly in Father Mathew Hall on Church Street in Dublin. Fr. Henry Anglin OFM Cap. (1910-1977) and three women are present in the photograph. A manuscript annotation reads ‘Sacred Heart Stall, Capuchin Sale of Work’, 25th November 1944’
