The Catholic Boys’ Brigade was founded by Fr. Benvenutus Guy OSFC (1860-1927), a Capuchin friar, in March 1894. Mainly composed of impoverished children from the Church Street area, the organisation was initially called St. Joseph’s Boys’ Brigade. The stated objects of the Brigade were ‘to crush vice and evil habits among boys, to instruct them thoroughly in the Christian doctrine … to give them habits of obedience, discipline, and self-respect and love for ecclesiastical authority and holy religion and to promote their moral, physical and temporal well-being’. The idea of forming a Brigade for the Catholic boys of Dublin sprung from the success achieved by the Protestant Boys’ Brigade. The first meeting hall of the Brigade was in a house in Smithfield which was rented at 5s per week. This meeting was held on 24 April 1894 with nine boys in attendance. The organisation grew rapidly. The Brigade Hall was soon relocated to a property (formerly a smelting foundry) at 156 Church Street which was purchased for the sum of £300. The organizing committee also succeeded in obtaining the use of an old vegetable market at the rear of the Hall which was used as a drill yard in 1895. The newly furnished hall and gallery could hold 1,500 attendees. A uniform was supplied to each enrolled boy consisting of a sash, a cap and a badge. An important aspect of the Brigade’s activities was physical exercise and participants routinely trained in ‘physical drilling, figure marching, squad and company drills’. A band was also established under the supervision of Fr. Sebastian O’Brien OSFC (1867-1931). A night-school for instructing illiterate young boys was founded in October 1899 and soon attracted thirty-five students. Religious instruction was supplied by the Capuchin friars. This was initially performed by Fr. Benvenutus Guy OSFC and later by Fr. Paul Neary OSFC (1857-1939). In 1904 the Church Street Capuchins transferred trusteeship of the properties owned by the Catholic Boys’ Brigade to lay stewardship.
The flier refers to the foundation by Fr. Benvenutus Guy OSFC of St. Joseph’s League which was approved by the Most Rev. William J. Walsh, Archbishop of Dublin, and provides details of its government and organisation. Article 6 notes that ‘members [are] to wear a badge to distinguish them from other boys. By the wearing of this badge they are expected to avoid the company of wicked boys, and to do all in their power to crush vice of every kind, especially evil speaking in those with whom they have to come in contact with’.
A carte de visite of members of the Catholic Boys' Brigade founded on Church Street in Dublin in March 1894. The photographic print (on card) was produced by W.F. O’Connor, 1 Wellington Quay, corner of Parliament Street, Dublin.
Circular letter from the Catholic Boys’ Brigade Committee, Capuchin Friary, Church Street. The circular refers to the enrollment of over two thousand young boys and the need for subscriptions for the organisation. It reads: ‘The work is Catholic and essentially non-political … The premises at 156 Church Street have been purchased in fee, and are undergoing the necessary alterations. Good Brass and Fife and Drum Bands are in course of organisation; uniforms have to be provided for the boys, many initial expenses are incurred’. The file contains three copies of the document.
The clippings relate mainly to notifications of public meetings, events, entertainments, and parades associated with the Boys’ Brigade, Church Street. Some of the clippings also provide lists of subscribers and details of fund-raising efforts. Includes clippings from the 'Freeman’s Journal', 'Daily Nation', 'Daily Express', and 'Evening Telegraph'. Some of the annotated clippings were loosely inserted into a hard-covered volume (21 cm x 14 cm) which was ink-stamped on the inside cover ‘Catholic Boys’ Brigade, Church Street, Dublin’.
A letter from the examiner of claims in relation to an application for an income tax exemption (charity) for the Catholic Boys’ Brigade, Church Street.
Letter from James J. Darragh, 154 North King Street, to Lieutenant McNamara thanking Boys’ Brigade members for their messages of condolence on the death of his mother. Darragh added ‘All I can say is that as long as I am connected with the Brigade (and which I intend to be for many years I hope, in spite of the many mean tricks that are being resorted to try to get me out of it), I will always look after the interests of the officers …’.
Letter from the Most Rev. Abraham Brownrigg, Bishop of Ossory, to Fr. Peter Bowe OSFC, Provincial Minister, referring to an anonymous letter published in the 'Kilkenny Journal' appearing to advocate ‘the introduction of a Boys’ Brigade into Kilkenny to be worked by and under the supervision of your fathers in Walkin Street’. Brownrigg expresses his disapproval of such a proposal. With a letter from Fr. Jarlath Hynes OSFC assuring the Bishop that ‘our fathers in Kilkenny have no knowledge whatsoever of the anonymous letter … nor has there ever been any question or thought amongst us … of having anything to do with a Boys’ Brigade in your city’.
Newspaper cuttings covering the collapse of two tenement buildings at No. 66 and No. 67 Church Street on 2 Sept. 1913. The reports provide descriptions of the disaster and the subsequent funeral of the seven victims at St Michan’s Church, Halston Street. Some of the photographic prints show the attendance of Capuchin friars at the funerals including Fr. Jarlath Hynes OSFC, Fr. Paul Neary OSFC, Fr. John Butler OSFC and Fr. Thomas Dowling OSFC. The file includes cuttings from the 'Evening Telegraph', 'Irish Independent', 'Daily Sketch', and 'Freeman’s Journal'.
