‘Paget Prize Plate Co., Ltd., Watford’ box. The box contains a manuscript note which reads: ‘With Fr. Russell’s compliments. Negatives of Thomastown Castle, County Tipperary. Front and back views. Maynooth, 27 Nov. 1913’. The box contains three glass plate negatives. A front and rear view of Thomastown Castle, the childhood home of Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC (1790-1856), and a photographic image of a letter from Fr. Mathew. Thomastown Castle, near Golden in County Tipperary, was a large country house built by the Mathew family. The earliest house on this site was built by George Mathew and dated to c.1670. The house was enlarged in the Gothic style by Francis Mathew, 2nd Earl of Llandaff, in 1812. The renowned Irish architect, Richard Morrison (1767-1849), redesigned the house incorporating several Gothic features including the ornate towers on the front elevation. Thomastown Castle was the childhood home of Fr. Theobold Mathew OSFC who abandoned a life of privilege to become a Capuchin friar. By the late nineteenth century the fortunes of the Mathew family had declined, and Thomastown Castle had fallen into ruins and the estate was completely abandoned. The ‘Fr. Russell’ referred to in the manuscript note in the file is probably Fr. Mathew Russell, editor of ‘The Irish Monthly’.
A plate showing a sketch of Thomastown Castle in County Tipperary, the birthplace of Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC. The sketch is by Denis Santry (1879-1960).
Two plates showing images of the road from Rochestown to the local railway station. The image shows three Capuchin friars with a three-arch stone bridge, a mill and a chimney in the distant background. One of the friars is identifiable. The individual first on the right is Fr. Ignatius Collins OSFC. With an annotated cover.
A view of the archway leading to the grave of Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC in St Joseph’s Cemetery, Cork. A solitary woman kneels at the cross above the grave.
A view of the textile mill on the road to Rochestown on the outskirts of Cork city in about 1905. It is possible that the image shows one of the many textile mills which operated in the Douglas area of Cork at the beginning of the twentieth century. Douglas began to develop as an urban settlement in the early eighteenth century. The mills produced sailcloth and supplied sails to the Royal Navy among other clients.
An image of Fr. Aloysius Travers OFM Cap. (front) and (directly behind) Fr. Angelus Healy OFM Cap. walking in a temperance procession. A large banner depicting Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC (1790-1856), the apostle of temperance, is prominently displayed in the procession.
A view of (front) Fr. Aloysius Travers OFM Cap. and (directly behind) Fr. Angelus Healy OFM Cap. walking in a temperance procession. A large banner depicting Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC (1790-1856), the 'Apostle of Temperance', is prominent in the procession.
A view of a temperance demonstration on Sackville (O'Connell) Street in Dublin. A large crowd is assembled in front of a packed platform draped in a large banner reading ‘Ireland Sober Ireland Free’. Fr. Aloysius Travers OSFC is seated in the front row on the platform.