Although the association of the Capuchin friars with the Walkin Street (now Friary Street) area of Kilkenny dates to the late seventeenth century, the documents in this section relate primarily to the present-day Church of St. Francis, built by Fr. Peter Joseph Mulligan OSFC (1793-1853) in 1848. The section also contains documents relating to the subsequent extensions to the Friary, most notably in 1897 when a large three-storey building between Walkin Street and Pennyfeather Lane was constructed to provide, among other things, accommodation for novices. The relatively large number of documents relating to the Walkin Street properties has necessitated the creation of a further three sub-sub-series relating to a particular plot of ground, purchase or sale.
This property formed part of the historic Munster Arms’ site (see section 2.1.1.1). It was situated on the north side of Walkin Street approximately two hundred yards from the junction of that street with High Street and immediately opposite the entrance to the Capuchin Friary. The property was bounded to the north by the Regent Cinema (demolished in 1998), to the west by Garden Row, to the south by Friary Street, and to the east by the Friary Street Car Park which was owned by Kilkenny Corporation. By the late twentieth century, the property at 17 Friary Street comprised a three storey nineteenth-century residence, formerly end-of-terrace but afterwards detached. The property had been left vacant for many years. The file relates to the sale of the property by the Capuchin Order to property developers in the late 1990s.
Metal stereotypes (set on wooden blocks) of illustrations (many by Fr. Gerald McCann OFM Cap. with some by Grace Perry) of Franciscan life published in 'The Capuchin Annual'. The themes include Christmas festivities, pranks and mischiefs involving Capuchins (some of the friars depicted, including Fr. Senan Moynihan OFM Cap., were known to Fr. Gerald), sports, music, everyday chores and religious rituals. Several of the blocks depict more general aspects of religious devotion including representations of saints, the nativity, symbols and crests, missionaries and the clergy. Some of the blocks have annotations on the reverse indicating the theme of the illustration. These include: • ‘This place is holy’. • ‘Joy in the struggle’. • ‘St. Francis of Assisi / the builder’. • ‘People in love’. • ‘Building together’. • ‘Call to praise’. • ‘Peace and goodness’. • ‘St. Francis and the Wolf’. The cover illustration of 'The Capuchin Annual' by Seán O’Sullivan RHA. • Richard King at work on a Station of the Cross in his studio. Some of these stereotype blocks were found in box marked with an annotation suggesting that they had been returned from ‘Kelly’s Printers’.
Metal stereotypes (set on wooden blocks) with illustrations of women. The original filing cabinet containing these blocks was labelled ‘women’. The blocks lack any identifying captions, but some are numbered. Some of the images appear to show women in domestic situations and at work (particularly in a rural setting). Several of the metal stereotypes are detached from the wooden
A letter from Val Mulkerns (1925-2018) to Fr. Senan Moynihan OFM Cap. The letter thanks the Capuchin friar for payment for a poem and refers to her reasons for moving to England and to her work on her novel.
