This series includes records relating to Irish Capuchin missionary work in Zambia (previously Northern Rhodesia) which commenced in 1931. The series contains correspondence, visitation reports, minutes, newsletters and missionary magazines, travelogues, linguistic material, regional histories, and personal mission journals. The collection also includes a very large collection of photographic albums and prints. The papers are a rich source for church and mission history. As the work of the missionaries in Zambia embraced not just evangelism, but also, for example, education, medical work, language study and translations, and the development of local agriculture and industry, these records are a valuable source for study across a wide range of research interests.
This series contains property documents including title deeds, legal correspondence, and memoranda relating to the acquisition of properties in Cork by the Capuchin Franciscan friars. Towards the end of the eighteenth century, Cork experienced a dramatic physical growth. George’s Quay had been built during the second half of the century, making the River Lee navigable for shipping and in 1806 Parliament Bridge had replaced an earlier structure connecting both sides of the city for the flow of commercial traffic. A location below this bridge, near the mercantile and commercial centre of the city, was chosen by Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC as the site for a new church. The foundation stone of what was to become Holy Trinity Church was laid on 10 October 1832. However, the building was not opened for public worship until 1850. The gothic portico and spire were not constructed until 1889-90. Prior to the opening of the new church, the Cork Capuchins had lived in a friary situated on Blackamoor Lane in the South Parish. Following the construction of Holy Trinity Church, the community obtained a lease of 8 George’s Quay in 1855. Later, they moved across the river to a house built by Fr. Cherubim Mazzini OSFC (1831-1906) situated at the corner of Queen Street and Charlotte Quay. Fr. Cherubim Mazzini OSFC, (sometimes referred to as Cherubini in contemporary newspapers and other documents) was a Capuchin friar from Bologna in Italy. The Cork Gas Company later took possession of this site on the quay. It is now occupied by Radió Teilifís Éireann. In the summer of 1884 the Capuchin community took up residence in the present-day friary. The building of this friary was started by a French Capuchin, Fr. Simeon Gaudillot OSFC (1836-1910), and completed by Fr. Seraphin Van Damme OSFC (1820-1887) who became the first Provincial Minister of the newly reconstituted Irish Capuchin Province in 1885.
This series comprises historical catalogues and schedules of records held in the archives of Holy Trinity Friary in Cork. Some of the material noted in these catalogues is now extant in the Irish Capuchin Archives. However, other archival material referenced in these descriptive lists has now evidently been lost.
This section includes files relating to the Capuchin community resident in Ard Mhuire Friary. The series includes records relating to various aspects of their religious life, to their ministries and their interactions with the clergy of the diocese of Raphoe and with various lay fraternities and associations.
This series contains unpublished material compiled mainly by Capuchin friars (particularly by Fr. Angelus Healy OFM Cap.) relating to the history of the Capuchins in Cork or to noteworthy Cork-born members of the Order.
This section includes various books and journals of account (for example, ledgers of accounts paid, day books, and cash receipts). The records detail annual audits and routine household and community expenditure. The series also includes records relating to tax returns and bills (mainly property and municipal taxes), and insurance policies covering fire, engineering and public liabilities.
A large collection of newspapers, broadsheets and daily bulletins relating to the independence struggle. The republican newspapers, publicity material and political ephemera collected by the Irish Capuchins are particularly important as they cover a broad spectrum of nationalist political debate. A good number of the Irish Capuchins were privately sympathetic to the republican side and maintained close contacts with many prominent Anti-Treaty figures. Many of the republican newspapers and bulletins accumulated by the friars covered the day-to-day conduct of the Civil War and contain information not found elsewhere in the contemporary press since the daily newspaper titles published little or nothing originating from the Anti-Treaty side.
This series includes various books and journals of account (for example, ledgers of accounts payable, accounts received and cash receipts). The records detail annual audits and routine household and community expenditure. The series also includes records relating to tax returns and bills (property and municipal rates), and insurance policies covering fire, engineering, and public liabilities. Accounts of monies derived from street collections and annual quests are also included in this section.
This series contains records relating to the Third Order of St. Francis religious confraternity (later the Secular Franciscan Order) attached to the Church of St. Francis, Capuchin Friary, Kilkenny.
