Letters to Fr. Gilbert Bermingham OFM Cap., President, and Fr. Virgilus Murtagh OFM Cap. from Milward, Jones, Mayne and Knapp, solicitors, 6 Dawson Street, Dublin, concerning negotiations with the Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests for the sale of Father Mathew Hall by the trustees to the Capuchin Order, for £7,000. Gerard O’Rourke wrote to Fr. Gilbert on 12 Nov. 1964 to explain that the ‘Commissioners would not agree to the purchase price of the Hall being used for the reconstruction of the Hall because the Hall would then belong to the Capuchin Order and would cease to be taken as a memorial to Fr. Mathew’. An order from the Courts directing that the assets of the trust be transferred to the Capuchin Order is referred to in a letter 2 July 1968.
Letters from Michael Knightly (1888-1965), the government’s Chief Press Censor, to Fr. Senan Moynihan OFM Cap. Knightly’s letter refers to the prohibition on the publication of images of coastal locations (such as Cobh, Mizen Head, and Portstewart Strand) and to restrictions on information received from foreign ‘wireless’ (telegraph or radio) sources.
Letters from Mary MacSwiney (Máire Nic Shuibhne, 1872-1942) to Fr. Henry Rope. Two of the letters are copies (Rope notes that the copies were made in 1947 and that he deposited the originals in the archives of the Pontifical Irish College in Rome). One of the copy letters (dated 21 Nov. 1922) refers to Mary MacSwiney’s treatment by the Free State authorities. It reads ‘The hardest part of my trial here is being deprived of the Sacraments as I have not succeeded in finding a priest who will be satisfied to hear the confession of my sins and let my political convictions alone’. The original letter (26 Oct. 1930) refers to the ‘terrible airship disaster’ involving R 101, a British rigid airship. The disaster claimed the lives of forty-eight of the fifty-four people on board including Fr. Henry Rope’s younger brother, Squadron Leader Frederick Michael Rope.
Letters from Kathleen Clarke (wife of Tom Clarke), 15 Barrington Street, Limerick, to Fr. Albert Bibby OFM Cap., mostly concerning family news. She also wrote: ‘Limerick does not agree with me. I am tired all the time here. I have an unsettled feel here too … . I find it hard to realise that my home and everything is gone, the only thing left is hope, and if our hopes for Ireland’s future are fulfilled the sacrifices will have been worth the making’. She also refers to Ernest Blythe: ‘We had hoped for better for him. I suppose he is left Arbour Hill by this and there would be no use in writing to him
Letters from James Rupert Boyd Barrett, architect, 5 Camden Place, Cork, regarding design work, tenders, bills of quantities and furnishings for the new Capuchin House of Studies at Ard Mhuire Friary in County Donegal. The letter recipients include Fr. Conrad O’Donovan OFM Cap., Fr. Berard Creed OFM Cap., Fr. Berchmans McCarthy OFM Cap., and Fr. Barnabas Gaynor OFM Cap. The file also includes receipts and certificates of payment for construction work on the House of Studies.
Letters from Jonathan J. Fitzgerald, 26 Lower Stephen Street, Dublin, to Fr. Paul Neary OSFC, Church Street, recommending a play titled ‘Dick Whittington’ for performance by the Boys’ Brigade. He later commends the Brigade for the ‘exquisite programmes’ rendered. Aloysius Johnson, 1 Glenarin Villas, Drumcondra, asks Fr. Paul if he intends holding Brigade troop meetings during the summer months.
Four letters from John Haughton Steele (1850-1920) to Fr. Henry Rope. The letters refer to studies and preparation for his ordination in Rome as a Catholic priest (he was previously an Anglican rector). Reference is also made to the Pontifical Irish College in Rome.
Letters from John Earley, stained glass artist and church decorator, Upper Camden Street, Dublin, regarding the design and installation of windows and door panels at the Capuchin Church and Friary, Walkin Street, Kilkenny. The file includes letters to Fr. Jarlath Hynes OSFC, Fr. Berchmans Cantillon OSFC and Messrs Ashlin & Coleman, architects. Other works referred to include the erection of a tabernacle and canopy over the altar and a pulpit ‘made of the best selected Sicilian marble …’.
Letters from J.H MacDonnell, solicitor, 3-7 Southampton Street, Strand, London, to Fr. Aloysius Travers OFM Cap., Church Street, Dublin, referring to his hopes for a settlement in relation to the release of Fr. Dominic O'Connor OFM Cap. He writes: ‘I think the Prisoners will be released during the negotiations. I know Bob Barton is very keen on the matter and as I am personally known to all of the delegates who are coming over, I shall press them to push this matter forward’. He also refers to improving conditions of Fr. Dominic’s confinement.
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.
