Showing 27 results

The official unveiling of the statue of Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC on Sackville (later O’Connell) Street on 8 February 1893. The statue was designed by Mary Redmond (1863-1930).

A plate showing a print of the unveiling of the Father Mathew statue (designed by John Henry Foley) on St. Patrick's Street, Cork, in October 1864.

‘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).

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 plate showing a portrait of Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC (as a younger man). The portrait shows Fr. Mathew in traditional nineteenth-century clerical attire with a temperance medal pinned to his breast.

A view of a portrait of Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC (in old age). The portrait shows Fr. Mathew in traditional nineteenth-century clerical attire.

A photograph of an autograph letter from Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC to John O’Connell conveying his sympathies on the death of his father (Daniel O’Connell). The letter is dated 4 June 1847. The plate by Mayne, Lord Edward Street, Dublin.