Although the association of the Capuchin friars with the Walkin Street (now Friary Street) area of Kilkenny dates to the late seventeenth century, the documents in this section relate primarily to the present-day Church of St. Francis, built by Fr. Peter Joseph Mulligan OSFC (1793-1853) in 1848. The section also contains documents relating to the subsequent extensions to the Friary, most notably in 1897 when a large three-storey building between Walkin Street and Pennyfeather Lane was constructed to provide, among other things, accommodation for novices. The relatively large number of documents relating to the Walkin Street properties has necessitated the creation of a further three sub-sub-series relating to a particular plot of ground, purchase or sale.
Copy will and probate of Joseph Empson, Kilkenny city. He leaves all his property to his wife Margaret for her use and that of their children. The probate was granted on 29 Sept. 1859.
Assignment from Fr. John Laurence O’Flynn OSFC to Fr. James Edward Tommins OSFC, Fr. Daniel Patrick O’Reilly OSFC, Capuchin Convent, Dublin, Fr. Patrick Joseph Columbus Maher OSFC, Capuchin Convent, Kilkenny, and Fr. Edmund Thomas Dillon OSFC, Capuchin Convent, Cork, of the leasehold interest in premises on Walkin Street in consideration of 5s. The lease recites an earlier lease (dated 31 Aug. 1855) from Frances and Grace Blair to Fr. James Lewis O’Reardon [var. Louis O’Riordan] and Fr. John Laurence O’Flynn of the ‘gateway and yard formerly held by Humphrey Semple and the house at present occupied by Thomas Aylward … and the plot of ground in the possession of the said Rev. John Laurence O’Flynn which said demised premises are situate in Walkin Street in the parish of Saint Mary, City of Kilkenny … forever at the yearly rent of £6’. The file also includes a conveyance (19 Aug. 1897) from Beledia Juliana Maher to Fr. Peter Bowe OSFC and others of the said gateway and premises on Walkin Street to hold in fee farm subject to the rents payable. It is noted that Beledia Juliana Maher was the principal heiress-at-law of the estate of the late Fr. Patrick Joseph Columbus Maher OSFC.
This property formed part of the historic Munster Arms’ site (see section 2.1.1.1). It was situated on the north side of Walkin Street approximately two hundred yards from the junction of that street with High Street and immediately opposite the entrance to the Capuchin Friary. The property was bounded to the north by the Regent Cinema (demolished in 1998), to the west by Garden Row, to the south by Friary Street, and to the east by the Friary Street Car Park which was owned by Kilkenny Corporation. By the late twentieth century, the property at 17 Friary Street comprised a three storey nineteenth-century residence, formerly end-of-terrace but afterwards detached. The property had been left vacant for many years. The file relates to the sale of the property by the Capuchin Order to property developers in the late 1990s.
Documents relating to an application to the Charitable Commissioners by the FMC Trust. The documents relate to an application by the Trust for a sale of the trustee’s interest in 17 Friary Street located at the junction of Friary Street and Garden Row with the yard at the rear thereof held by the Capuchin Order under a fee farm grant dated 29 Oct. 1898. The file includes: • Draft and copy application forms. • Copy declarations by Fr. Leo Cullen OFM Cap. in which he states that the said property has been in the possession of the Capuchin Order since at least 1912. 26 July 1996; 2 Dec. 1997. • Copy public notices. • Copy of orders from the Charitable Commissioners. • Copy affidavit of Seamus Brennan, solicitor, Abbey Bridge, Dean Street, Kilkenny. 1 Dec. 1999. • Copy statutory acknowledgment and undertaking of the FMC Trust. • Copy memorandum and articles of association of the FMC Trust.
Copy valuation report for 17 Friary Street, Kilkenny, by Ganly Waters Boyd, 5 William Street, Kilkenny. The report affirms that the vacant property has an open market value of £101,000. With attached copy ordnance survey extract.
Letters from James G. Robertson, 36 Sandford Road, Ranelagh, Dublin, to Fr. Jarlath Hynes OSFC, Capuchin Friary, Kilkenny, mainly regarding tenancy matters in respect of holdings on Walkin Street.
Deed of Richard Samuel Owen Robinson and Rev. Andrew Craig Robinson appointing Thomas Jones Robinson to be a trustee of the will Sarah Blair in the place of Richard Bell Robinson, deceased. With a declaration that the lands and premises which are the subject of the trusts of the will of Sarah Blair should forthwith be vested in Thomas Jones Robinson.
Trace map of premises to be conveyed by Rev. Andrew Craig Robinson to Fr. Peter Bowe OSFC and others. The property is divided into sixteen individual lots and is demarcated on the map by a red line. An annotation reads: ‘The red lines indicate the boundaries of the property of Rev. A.C. Robinson and W. R. Robinson’. The premises are bounded to the west by the Friary garden and yard and by the alms house.
Abstract of title of Rev. Andrew Craig Robinson and Rev. Willoughby Richard Knox Robinson to premises on Walkin Street, Kilkenny. The abstract commences with a recital of a fee farm grant of 9 Sept. 1705 from James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde to Mary Pape of ‘a stone house slatted with a thatcht house and garden in hightown quarter also a wast piece of ground in Walkinstreete twenty one foote in front and forty two foot backwards …’ in consideration of £24 13s 4d at the yearly rent of £6 3s 4d with four turkeys and eight capons or £1 6s in lieu thereof. (See CA KK/2/1/1/3/16). The abstract concludes with reference to the granting of the administration (19 Aug. 1912) of the personal estate of Rev. Richard Samuel Owen Robinson to his widow Henrietta Robinson.
