A collection of papers relating to Patrick Pearse (1879-1916), a barrister, writer, and educationalist. He was born in Dublin on 10 November 1879, the elder son and the second of four children of James Pearse, a sculptor, and his second wife, Margaret. As a political revolutionary, Pearse rose to prominence as one of the key figures in the Easter Rising of 1916. He was chosen as the president of the republic which the rebels proclaimed during the insurrection. Pearse was executed in Kilmainham Jail on 3 May 1916. The collection comprises mostly personal papers including correspondence, legal records, writings, and some printed works. Much of the material relates to Scoil Éanna, the Gaelic school founded by Pearse in Dublin in 1908. Many of the letters in the collection relate to Pearse’s fundraising trip to the United States from March to June 1914. The purpose of this visit was to raise funds for Scoil Éanna and many of the letters are from potential donors and Irish Americans sympathetic to Pearse’s cultural nationalism. Other papers relate to the routine management of the school and to lesser extent Pearse’s involvement with the Irish Volunteers. From the latter perspective, a record and attendance book of the Irish Volunteers in Dublin covering the months leading up to 1916 Rising, is clearly a significant document in the collection. Other records refer to the precarious financial state of Scoil Éanna and to Pearse’s efforts to keep the school solvent. Some notes by Pearse on mainly education-related subjects are also extant in the collection. Several documents in the collection are either in Pearse’s hand or are endorsed with his signature.
Ticket for the annual concert of the Colmcille branch of Conrad na Gaelige in Father Mathew Hall, Church Street, Dublin, on 30 April 1920. An address by Fr. Augustine Hayden OSFC was given at the concert.
This section mainly includes organisational records, correspondence, clippings, financial records, scripts, and printed material related to Feis events.
Timetable and programme of competitions at the Father Mathew Feis in Dublin which was due to be held between 23 April and 30 April 1916. The event was short by the outbreak of fighting in the Church Street area on 24 April.
Letter from John Earley, stained glass artist and church decorator, Upper Camden Street, Dublin, to Fr. Jarlath Hynes OSFC regarding designs of the tabernacle and canopy of the High Altar in the Capuchin Friary Church on Walkin Street in Kilkenny.
Day account book of house expenses, Capuchin Friary, Walkin Street, Kilkenny. The title is given on the first page: ‘Day book commenced April 1932, Fr. Ignatius Collins of Cork, guardian’. The volume includes accounts for routine household expenses such as foodstuffs, washing, clothing, stationary, and newspapers. Other expenses included wages paid to lay staff. The entries are periodically signed by the guardian and by Provincial Ministers at visitations.
A view of the exterior of Ards House near Creeslough in County Donegal. Ards House (later Ard Mhuire Capuchin Friary) was formerly the residence of the Stewart-Bam family. The house and demesne were taken over by the Irish Land Commission in 1927. It was acquired by the Capuchin Order in March 1930. The Order changed the name of the old Stewart-Bam house to Ard Mhuire which became a theological seminary. The first community consisted of Fr. Colman Griffin OFM Cap. (Guardian), Fr. Patrick Kelleher OFM Cap., Fr. Andrew Carew OFM Cap. and Br. Fidelis Rice OFM Cap. It took some time to convert Ards House into a Capuchin friary. A power plant was built for electric light and central heating was installed. A large fire in December 1944 caused considerable damage to the old house and the decision was made in the mid-1950s to demolish the residence and build a new friary and church. At this point, the mansion was in a terrible state of repair – the lead roof was developing cracks and was leaking and the oldest part of the building, the elaborate façade, was crumbling. The new Capuchin Friary at Ard Mhuire was formally opened on 13 November 1966. The friary overlooks the shores of Sheephaven Bay and now offers retreats, conferences, seminars, and periods of rest and relaxation, reflection, prayer and holidays.
