The sub-series contains research notes, correspondence and publications on Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC compiled by Fr. Angelus Healy OFM Cap. (1875-1953). Fr. Angelus was considered an authority on the history of the Irish Capuchins. The section includes transcripts, correspondence, published articles and research notes pertaining to Fr. Mathew and his temperance campaign.
The sub-series contains research notes, document transcriptions, correspondence and publications on Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC compiled by Fr. Nessan Shaw OFM Cap. (1915-1997). The Waterford-born Capuchin friar, Brother (later Father) Nessan Shaw OFM Cap. completed a thesis titled ‘The Life and Times of Fr. Theobald Mathew’ for an MA degree in University College Cork in 1939. He retained a life-long interest in the subject and accumulated a large number of documentary sources, publications and notes pertaining to Fr. Mathew and his campaign against intemperance.
The sub-series contains research notes, correspondence and publications on Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC compiled by Fr. Stanislaus Kavanagh OFM Cap. (1876-1965). Fr. Stanislaus served as Provincial Archivist for the Capuchin Order in Ireland from 1919 to 1958. During this time, he worked assiduously to collect and record any events connected with the history of the Irish Capuchins. In the course of this research he assembled a good deal of material relating to Fr. Mathew and his championing of the temperance cause.
The subseries contains material assembled with a view to undertaking a beatification process for Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC. The files include evidence and investigations into cures attributed to the intercession of prayers at Fr. Mathew’s grave in St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Cork.
This section contains records relating to the sale by the Capuchin Franciscan Order of Father Mathew Hall, Church Street, and the Bow Street Friary building. The principal agents for the sale of the two properties (sold as lots) were Hamilton Osborne King (HOK). The old Friary consisted of a four storey L-shaped building of circa 2,675 m2. The original portion of the building was built towards the end of the nineteenth century, with a northern wing added in the early twentieth century. Access to this portion of the Friary was from Bow Street. The sub-series contains solicitors’ and auctioneers’ correspondence relating to arrangements for the sale. The collection includes legal material connected with the tender for sale and representations made to the Capuchins from various individuals for the preservation of Father Mathew Hall as a cultural and community amenity. This section also includes correspondence from Dublin Corporation regarding provisions for the protection of certain architectural features of the Hall’s interior.
The subseries includes research on St. Joseph’s Cemetery, Cork. In February 1830 Fr. Mathew secured a lease of the Botanic Gardens which became the city’s first Catholic cemetery. A portion of the ground was also set aside for the free burial of the poor, whose bodies had previously been left outside their dwellings until sufficient money was collected for their internment.
