Showing 37 results

The sub-series comprises prose drafts submitted for potential publication in 'The Father Mathew Record' (later 'Eirigh').

The sub-series comprises prose drafts submitted for potential publication in 'The Capuchin Annual'.

A very large collection of metal stereotypes and photoengraving plates (most of which are mounted on wooden blocks) used for printing purposes for 'The Capuchin Annual'. Photoengraving was a process used in preparing illustrations for printing by transferring images to metal plates by a combination of photography and acid etching. Photoengraving was widely used in making plates for various printing processes, reproducing a wide variety of graphics such as lettering, line drawings and photographs. A stereotype consisted of engravings from a drawing or from an illustration. If required, duplicate stereotypes could be set beside text composed on a linotype machine and headings in hand-set type. Photoengraving plates and stereotype blocks were frequently mass-produced for advertisements and were sent to various printers, newspapers and publishers. These photoengraving plates and stereotype blocks were transferred (many still extant in filing cabinets) to archival storage following the closure of the Capuchin Publications Office in 1977. Many of the plates and blocks are numbered but only a few have identifying captions or annotations.

The sub-series contains a select collection of publications formerly held by the editors of 'The Capuchin Annual' in the Publications Office. It is probable that many books, periodicals and journals were transferred to the Provincial Library in the Capuchin Friary on Church Street. Many others may have been discarded.

The sub-series comprises poetry anthologies submitted for potential publication in 'The Capuchin Annual'.

The sub-series comprises draft poetry submitted by authors for publication in 'The Father Mathew Record' (later 'Eirigh').

The sub-series contains a small collection of letters and poetry submitted by Colm Tóibín to Fr. Donal O’Mahony OFM Cap. for potential publication in 'Eirigh'.

The extensive and often lavish use of photographs in 'The Capuchin Annual' set the publication apart from many other periodicals of the time. Photography in the 'Annual' served a very clear purpose – it projected an idealised image of Ireland to its wide readership in a way that was arguably more effective than any prose. In the early years, scenic views such as ‘Evening in Dublin’ or ‘Killiney Bay’ would appear randomly, but in later years photographic features became far more extensive. The 'Annual’s' photographic archive is particularly rich and constitutes a valuable pictorial record of life in Ireland in the twentieth century.

The subseries comprises a small collection of papers relating to the Irish writer and translator Tadhg Ó Murchadha, who was known by the pseudonym ‘Seandún’.

Ó Murchadha was born in Macroom in County Cork in September 1843. He was baptized on 4 September 1843. His native language was Irish. Before the famine, most of the population of Macroom were Irish speakers. He trained as a tailor and moved to Cork in 1864 where he spent the rest of his life. He learned to read and write Irish and encountered many of those involved in the Irish revival movement. In 1885 he met Donnchadh Pléimionn (1867-1900), a noted Gaelic author and journalist, and it seems that Ó Murchadha’s interest in language matters began in earnest around this time. He was a founder member of the Cork branch of Gaelic League in 1894. Ó Murchadha had a fine appreciation of the flexibility of the Irish language and in his writing, he sought after accuracy and polish and achieved a style that was natural and free from self-consciousness. He emerged as a pioneer in Irish translation at the beginning of the Gaelic revival. His earliest attempt at writing was a translation of Robert Emmet’s ‘Speech from the dock’, and he went on to translate, under the title ‘Toradh na Gaedhilge ar aitheasc agus ar ghréithribh na nGaedhael’ (1905), William O’Brien’s ‘The influence of the Irish language on Irish national literature and character’. Ó Murchadha remains best known for his translations although he did contribute articles to the ‘Cork Weekly Examiner’ and the ‘Gaelic Journal’. He wrote an account of the life of Donnchadh Pléimionn which appeared in the ‘Weekly Examiner’ on 13 September 1900.

He compiled an Irish translation of Daniel Dafoe’s ‘Robinson Crusoe’ under the title ‘Eachtra Robinson Crúsó’ which was published by the Gaelic League in 1909. Tadhg Ó Donnchadha (‘Torna’) (1874-1949), later Professor of Irish in University College Cork, remarked that Ó Murchadha’s ‘Robinson Crusoe’ was the best translation he had ever read. About 1912, when his sight was beginning to fail, Ó Murchadha began to dictate an autobiographical account of his life, which was transcribed by friends and admirers among them Diarmuid Ó Murchadha and Toirdhealbhach Mac Suibhne (Terence MacSwiney), who during the War of Independence prepared a section of it dealing with the years of the Fenian rising for publication in book form under the title ‘Sgéal “Sheandúin”’ (1920). However, Ó Murchadha never saw it in print as he died in Cork on 13 April 1919. The second part of Ó Murchadha’s recollections was edited and published by Br. Senan Moynihan OFM Cap. in the Irish Capuchin periodical ‘The Father Mathew Record’ (July 1924-August 1925). The articles again appeared under the title ‘Sgéal “Sheandúin”’.

Much of the material listed here is associated with Moynihan’s publication of the second part of Ó Murchadha’s memoir. The file includes original material from several associates and admirers of Ó Murchadha including Tadhg Ó Donnchadha (‘Torna’), Terence MacSwiney, and Douglas Hyde. The collection also includes correspondence from Fr. Laurence Dowling OFM Cap. (the editor of ‘The Father Mathew Record’), Máire Nic Shuibhne (Mary MacSwiney), Diarmuid Ó Murchadha, Fr. Augustine Hayden OFM Cap., and Shan Ó Cuiv. Some letters from Frank Ryan, the well-known Irish socialist and republican activist, are also extant in the collection. Ryan seemingly assisted Moynihan in preparing Ó Murchadha’s memoir for publication. The collection also includes Moynihan’s manuscript drafts of ‘Sgéal “Sheandúin”’ along with a copy of Ó Murchadha translation of Robert Emmet’s ‘Speech from the dock’ written by Terence MacSwiney.

The subseries comprises a small collection of material relating to Roger Casement, a humanitarian, diplomat, and revolutionary. Born in Dublin on 1 September 1864, Casement was famous for his reports and activities highlighting human rights abuses in the Congo and Peru. He worked in Africa for commercial interests and later in the British diplomatic service. He was knighted in 1911 for his investigations into colonial atrocities. His consular investigation into crimes in the Congo eventually led him to adopt an Irish republican and radical separatist political outlook. After the outbreak of the First World War, he sought to obtain German military aid for a rebellion in Ireland against British rule. Casement believed that an Irish insurrection would be defeated unless it received substantial assistance from Germany, and when it became clear that adequate military help would not be forthcoming, he decided to travel to Ireland and try to prevent the planned rebellion from taking place. Shortly before the Easter Rising, he landed at Banna Strand in County Kerry. He was quickly arrested by the authorities. Stripped of his knighthood and other honours, he was subsequently convicted and hanged for treason in Pentonville Prison in London on 3 August 1916.

The subseries also includes some material relating to Robert Monteith (1879-1956), a former British army soldier and Irish nationalist. In late 1915 Monteith travelled to Berlin to assist Casement in recruiting an Irish brigade from among Irish prisoners-of-war held in Germany. He accompanied Casement to Ireland in April 1916. Monteith avoided capture and spent six months on the run including a period when he was hidden by Capuchin friars in Rochestown in County Cork. He subsequently escaped to the United States working in disguise as a sailor on a merchant vessel. Montieth returned to Ireland in May 1947. However, his residence in Ireland proved to be a short one. Monteith returned to the United States in 1953 and he died there on 18 February 1956. Fr. Senan Moynihan OFM Cap., the editor of ‘The Capuchin Annual’, was a close acquaintance of Monteith, and the friar seemingly compiled this material for several articles on Casement’s life and career which he published in the periodical.