The subseries comprises a small collection of papers of Frank Fahy, a revolutionary, Irish language activist, teacher, and politician. Born in County Galway in 1879, Fahy was a founding member of the Irish Volunteers and an active member of Conradh na Gaeilge (Gaelic League). He married Anna Barton (1885-1974), a Kerry-born Cumann na mBan activist, in 1908. He worked as a teacher in St. Vincent’s College, Castleknock, Dublin (1906-21). As a captain in the 1st Battalion of the Dublin Brigade of the Volunteers, he commanded the contingent that occupied the Four Courts during the 1916 Rising. He was subsequently sentenced to ten years in prison and spent terms in several British jails. He was released in the general amnesty of June 1917, and was later involved in the reorganisation of the Volunteer movement. He went on to have a long career in politics, serving as a Teachta Dála for thirty-five years, first for Sinn Féin and later as a member of Fianna Fáil. He was elected Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann in 1932. He resigned as Ceann Comhairle on health grounds in 1951. He died in Dublin on 12 July 1953.
The sub-series contains a collection of letters to Fr. Donal O’Mahony OFM Cap. mostly referring to (or enclosing) literary and poetry submissions for publication in 'Eirigh'.
The section includes a small collection of records relating to the Association of Patrons of 'The Capuchin Annual' (APCA). The Association was founded in 1944 with the goal of raising money to support the continued production of the publication. Both Irish and international subscribers to the APCA were provided with copies of the 'Annual' and 'The Father Mathew Record' in return for their financial support. Lists of APCA subscribers were printed in various editions of the 'Annual'. By 1967 it was noted that the APCA had become the ‘mainstay of the "Annual’s" sales organization’.
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 scholar and writer An tAthair Peadar Ó Laoghaire (Peter O’Leary). Ó Laoghaire was a prominent Irish language activist and member of Conradh na Gaeilge (Gaelic League). He published numerous books and articles on a range of topics, including an autobiography (‘Mo Sgéal Féin’), the first drama in Irish (‘Tadhg saor’), original prose, Irish translations of the Gospels, and translations of medieval Irish texts. The collection includes his letters to Fr. Augustine Hayden OFM Cap. and Fr. Albert Bibby OFM Cap., two Capuchin friars who shared Ó Laoghaire’s enthusiasm for the promotion of the Irish language. This collection also includes some material relating to Ó Laoghaire’s published work, particularly clippings of his transcriptions and translations of Irish texts, and a manuscript draft of ‘An Craos-Deamhan’. Fr. Senan Moynihan OFM Cap. was interested in Ó Laoghaire’s career and sought to promote his contribution to the Irish language. He seemingly acquired most of this material for personal research. The Ó Laoghaire collection was later preserved among Moynihan’s personal papers.
