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The file includes various fliers, pastoral letters, mission cards and ephemera relating primarily to various temperance associations, and missions and retreats including the Father Mathew Temperance Sodality and the Young Irish Crusaders attached to the Capuchin Friary, Church Street, Dublin. The file includes:
• Pastoral letters on temperance composed by various Irish Bishops in 1900 including Patrick Joseph O’Donnell, Bishop of Raphoe, Robert Browne, Bishop of Cloyne, Richard Alphonsus Sheehan, Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, and John Keys O’Doherty, Bishop of Derry.
• Souvenir of the National Temperance Crusade preached by the Franciscan Capuchin Fathers (c.1906).
• Midwinter greeting to the Priests’ Total Abstinence League of America (31 Jan. 1908).
• Flier for Grand Abstinence Demonstration, Armagh (27 June 1909).
• Flier for St. Michael’s Temperance Society, Lower Cecil Street, Limerick (1909).
• Circular from the Most Rev. Thomas O’Dea (1858-1923), Bishop of Galway, to the clergy of the diocese re the Capuchin Temperance Mission. 8 Aug. 1909.
• Indulgences granted to temperance sodalities established by the Franciscan Capuchin Fathers.
• Souvenir of retreat for the Children of Mary attached to the Convent of St. Camillus, St. Patrick’s Kilkenny (8 Dec. 1915).
• The Catholic Bishops on Intemperance.
• Souvenir of the Temperance Crusade held at Kilmacow, County Kilkenny / 6th to 13th July 1913.
• Father Mathew Temperance Association in honour of the Sacred Thirst / Object, Means and Constitution of the Association (Nov. 1913).
• Souvenir of the General Mission for Men and Women held in St. Mary of the Angels, Church Street, Dublin (25 Jan. 1914).
• Enrolment card for the National Catholic Total Abstinence Congress, Dublin (June 1914). The card also gives details of the proceedings of the congress which closed with an address by Fr. Aloysius Travers OSFC, Provincial Minister.
• Ceremonial and instructions for Capuchin Fathers conducting Missions and Retreats. (24 Jan. 1912).
• Flier for Devotions at St. Augustine’s Church Galway on the Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel (26 April 1915).
• Annual retreat of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis (6 Oct. 1918).
• A week-long mission at the Church of Our Immaculate Lady of Refuge, Rathmines, Dublin.
• Temperance Rallying Songs published The Father Mathew Record Office, Church Street, Dublin. Words by Brian O’Higgins and music by Arthur Darley.
• Rules of St. Patrick Total Abstinence Society, Dundalk (May 1909).
• The Amethyst / a temperance lecture by Fr. Matthew Russell SJ. A manuscript note on the final page reads: ‘Recited in the Father Mathew OSFC Centenary Memorial Hall, Church Street, May 21st, 1894 by the Rev. Author before it was printed. Fr. Columbus Maher’.
• The Anti-Saloon League and its work / what position should our Catholic Total Abstinence Societies assume towards it? Speech given by John. T. Shea. Published by the CTU of America, Massachusetts. Aug. 1908.
• Flier for a Lenten mission given by Capuchin Fathers from Cork at the Corpus Christi Votive Basilica, (Corpus Christi Priory), Manchester. Feb. 1921.
• The Father Mathew Man, no. 19 (Nov. 1924). Published in Chicago.
• A Solemn Novena in honour of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the Church of Saint Simon Stock / 182nd Street, Bronx, New York / Saturday, July 10th to Sunday, July 18th 1926. The sermons were given by Fr. Thomas Dowling OFM Cap.
• A remembrance of the mission preached by the Capuchin Fathers in the Pro-Cathedral, Dublin. 2-30 Mar. 1941.
• Young Irish Crusaders Prayer Book (St. Mary of the Angels, Church Street, Dublin, 1954).

Account book with details of receipts from the sale of temperance medals, manuals, certificates and crosses by the Irish Capuchin friars. Reference is made to certificates sold by Fr. Thomas Dowling OSFC (1874-1951) and Fr. Luke Sheehan OSFC (1873-1937). It is noted that Fr. Luke was a missionary at Steamer Point in Aden in 1903. The latter portion of the volume was subsequently used by Fr. Denis Corkery OFM Cap. (1914-1997) as a notebook for transcribing material (mostly in Irish and French). The dates of these entries are c.1970.

Report on the Capuchin Temperance Mission in Ireland compiled by Fr. Thomas Dowling OSFC (1874-1951) , Provincial Minister, in response to a request from the General Minister of the Order in Rome. The report refers to the progress of the temperance crusade in Ireland and includes information on the number of missions preached and total abstinence pledges taken. The report notes that the Capuchins have ‘administered the Sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion to 1,200 on each Mission. … We have given the pledge to an average of 800 in each Parish and have a record of having administered the Pledge since the beginning of this Crusade to 1,141,191’. (p. 10). It also includes favourable testimonials from the Irish Catholic hierarchy and other prominent figures. The principal headings in the report are as follows:
The Origins and Progress of the Father Mathew Total Abstinence Association
The Pledge
Pastorals on Temperance from the Bishops of Ireland
Testimony of His Eminence Cardinal Logue / Primate of All Ireland
Bishops’ Opinions
Testimony of the Clergy
Leading articles from the 'Freeman’s Journal' / the principal paper in Ireland
Press References
Testimonies from Judges, Public Officials and Lord Mayors

Ledger and account book for the Capuchin community at St. Mary of the Angels, Church Street. The ledger provides a daily record of income received and expenses incurred by the community. Notes are made of income derived from mass stipends, street collections, sodalities, Third Order payments and temperance publications. Reference is also made to monies received from donations, alms, bequests, and cheques. Expenses include travel tickets, staff wages, groceries, building repairs and other sundries. The entries are periodically signed by the Friary Guardian and by the Provincial Minister at Visitations
The front cover is endorsed in typescript with a list of Friary Guardians:
Fr. Bernard Jennings 1883-1886
Fr. Nicholas Murphy 1886-1893
Fr. Francis Hayes 1893-1895
Fr. Anthony Travers 1895-1898
Fr. Peter Bowe 1898-1901
Fr. Fiacre Brophy 1901-1904
Fr. Thomas Dowling 1904-1907
Fr. Laurence Dowling 1907-1910
It is also noted that Fr. Laurence began a ‘new ledger in Sept. 1907’. See CA CS/3/1/6.

Although the Capuchins arrived in Cork as early as 1637 it was many years before they took up residence on the site now known as Holy Trinity Church and Friary. The first Capuchin friars in Cork initially resided on the southern side of the city, just outside the South Gate. The religious upheavals of the seventeenth century occasioned many hardships for the friars who lived in constant fear of arrest and banishment. By the early eighteenth century the Capuchins appear to have established a permanent apostolate in the South Parish and by 1741 had built a small Friary on Blackamoor Lane situated just behind O’Sullivan’s Quay. In 1771 the community was augmented by the arrival from France of Fr. Arthur O’Leary OSFC (1729-1802). A native of West Cork, he joined the Capuchin Order on the continent and was ordained in St. Malo in 1758. O’Leary was responsible for the building of the small chapel on Blackamoor Lane which subsequently became known as the ‘South Friary’. During the first half of the nineteenth century Cork underwent a rapid expansion in both geographical size and population growth. It soon became apparent that the Friary on Blackamoor Lane was not sufficient to meet the demands of a growing congregation. By the mid-1820s, Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC (1790-1856), Provincial Minister of the Irish Capuchins and guardian (local superior) of the Cork community, decided to build a larger church in a more convenient location. Rejecting a site on O’Sullivan’s Quay, a location on Charlotte Quay (now Father Mathew Quay) below Parliament Bridge was eventually acquired. This area was then a busy a trading and shipping centre with many provisioning merchants, artisans and traders having offices and stores on the quayside. As the city expanded, the emerging Catholic business class sought to assert its power in social and public life. This self-confidence was reflected in the grandiose, perpendicular Gothic design for the new Capuchin church which was submitted by the well-known Cork-based architect George Pain (1793-1838).

Work commenced on the church in October 1832 but almost immediately the project ran into difficulties. The marshy site selected for the building soon became waterlogged and an additional £1,600 was required for the purchase of steam pumps. Afterwards, a lawsuit was filed by George Pain for the payment of an additional £300. In addition, the builder Thomas Anthony, who claimed to have taken the contract at too low a figure, went out of business. The firm of Sir Thomas Deane (1792-1871) & Company completed the church (excepting the steeple) with Thomas Coakley acting as supervising architect following George Pain’s death in 1838. The interior of the church was completed by William Atkins (1811-1887). Theobald Mathew’s preoccupation with the nationwide temperance campaign, the onset of the Great Famine and a lack of financial resources were also contributory factors in delaying the completion of the church. Although the building opened for religious services on 10 October 1850, it remained without a tower and ornamental façade for many years. Money was subsequently collected by the local guardian, Fr. Louis (John) O’Connell OSFC, but the sum was not sufficient to finance the completion of the church. It was not until the centenary celebrations of Theobald Mathew’s birth (1890) that sufficient funds were raised to finish the construction of the building. The church was completed to the design of the local architect Dominick J. Coakley (d. 1914). Although Coakley reduced the size of the spire, the building is largely as George Pain originally designed it. By 1884 the Capuchin friars had also managed to build a Friary adjoining Holy Trinity Church, having previously resided in a house situated at the corner of Queen Street and Charlotte Quay. The Friary building was designed by Robert Walker (c.1835-1910).

In the following years further ornamentation and building work enhanced the church interior. A special bell, replacing one erected sixteen year earlier, was blessed after Mass on 26 April 1896. It was the gift of H. O’Donovan. A memorial to Fr. Bernard Jennings OSFC (1850-1904) in the form of an expansion to the church was undertaken by a special committee formed for that purpose in 1906. This expansion was built upon property which the community had acquired situated to the rear of Holy Trinity Church. Foundation trenches had to be sunk to a depth of twenty feet below street level before construction work could commence. The High Altar, over which a memorial window for Daniel O’Connell had been erected, and two adjoining side altars, were taken down and replaced in the new extension. Shortly after this work was completed the sanctuary was extended, eventually opening in April 1908. A memorial window by Harry Clarke (1889-1931), the renowned stained-glass artist, was erected in 1918 by Cork trade unionists in recognition of the services rendered by Fr. Thomas Dowling OSFC (1874-1951) in improving conditions for the city’s workers. In the late 1970s Fr. Eustace McSweeney OFM Cap., guardian, initiated plans to bring the interior of the church more into line with the liturgical requirements set down in the Second Vatican Council. It also became clear that the physical fabric of the building required extensive renovation work. A survey undertaken by Brian Wain & Associates, architects, discovered serious structural defects including dry rot infestation, damage caused by the ingress of water into roofing spaces and extensive corrosive damage to the steeple. As a result, a major project of reconstruction was begun in January 1982. This renovation work was largely completed within a year and the church was reopened for public worship in November 1982.

Collection Content

The collection consists of records relating to the Capuchin community in Cork city and in particular to the foundation known as Holy Trinity Church and Friary situated on Father Mathew Quay (formerly known as Charlotte Quay). The majority of the material dates from the mid-nineteenth century to the late twentieth century. The fonds includes legal records relating to the acquisition, transfer and disposal of church property (such as deeds of title, mortgages and bills of sale), financial records, and material relating to individual members of the Capuchin community in Cork. The collection includes a large number of administrative and community files, financial statements and books of account relating to building construction and structural alterations, correspondence, plans, publicity material, photographs, and miscellaneous items of ephemera connected with Capuchin ministries and apostolates in Cork. The collection also includes unpublished historical writings and biographical material relating to notable members of the Order who ministered in the city. The collection also includes records and registers relating to the Third Order of St. Francis (now the Secular Franciscan Order) and other sodalities and confraternities attached to Holy Trinity Church.

File of newspaper clippings mainly re various anniversaries and commemorations connected with Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC and the temperance campaign. The file includes:
• Father Mathew Centenary Supplement to the 'Weekly Herald', 18 Oct. 1890.
• J.T. Collins, ‘Cork’s Fr. Mathew Statue’, 'Evening Echo', 23 June 1956.
• ‘Father Mathew / Interesting Memoir of his Life and Labour’. [c.1905].
• Gillie Lismore, ‘Friar with face of an angel / millions of people enrolled under his banner’.
• ‘Father Mathew / Birthday Celebration / Address by Very Rev. Dr. Thomas Dowling OSFC’, 'Cork Examiner', 12 Oct. 1925.
• ‘Father Mathew’, Everybody’s Monthly, 1 Oct. 1912. Refers to a temperance mission conducted by Fr. Dowling OSFC in Graiguenamanagh, County Kilkenny.
• ‘Dublin Memorial to Father Mathew’, Irish Independent, 10 Oct. 1939. The clipping refers to the laying of the commemorative tablet to mark the re-naming of the bridge (formerly Whitworth Bridge) at Church Street to honour Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC.
• Newspaper clipping of an article titled ‘Life of Father Mathew Recalled on eve of Catholic Total Abstinence Union of America (CTAU) Convention’. c.1949.
• Newspaper cutting reporting on a ceremony at Thomastown Castle, County Tipperary, to honour Fr. Mathew in 1956. The article includes reports of speeches by the Most Rev. Jeremiah Kinane, Archbishop of Cashel, and Fr. James O’Mahony OFM Cap., Provincial Minister.

File of newspaper clippings mainly re various anniversaries and commemorations connected with Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC and the temperance campaign. Many of the articles refer to sermons and talks on temperance made by Fr. Thomas Dowling OSFC (1874-1951). The file includes:
• ‘The anniversary celebration at St. Mary’s Cathedral Temperance Hall’. Refers to a lecture on the Apostle of Temperance by Fr. Thomas Dowling OSFC. 'Cork Examiner', Oct. 1899.
• ‘The vigil of Father Mathew’s Anniversary / Rejoicing in the city’, 'Evening Echo', 10 Oct. 1899.
• ‘Father Mathew Anniversary / Oration by Very Rev. Fr. Thomas OSFC / References to Home Rule / Brilliant Discourse’, 'Cork Examiner', 12 Oct. 1912.
• ‘Mathew Anniversary / Father Mathew Hall’, 'Evening Echo', 11 Oct. 1917.
• ‘Has prohibition a heretical tendency / A Franciscan on temperance’. Refers to an address by Fr. Thomas Dowling OSFC in Dublin on the anniversary of Fr. Mathew’s birth. 'Catholic Herald', 15 Oct. 1921.
• ‘Address at Father Mathew Anniversary Celebration’, 'Freeman’s Journal', 11 Oct. 1921.
• ‘Father Mathew Anniversary / Cork’s distinguished son honoured / imposing procession’, 'Cork Examiner', 18 Oct. 1902.
• ‘Mathew Celebrations / Fr. Mathew Hall’, 'Cork Examiner', 12 Oct. 1918.

File of newspaper clippings mainly re various anniversaries and commemorations connected with Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC and the temperance campaign. The file includes:
• ‘Leitrim Man 116 Years Old / Follower of Father Mathew / Preserves Pledge Card of 89 Years Ago’, 'Roscommon Herald', 27 June 1931.
• ‘Father Mathew’s Birthday / Great Demonstration in Cork’, 'Cork Examiner', 12 Oct. 1885.
• ‘Father Mathew Anniversary / Eloquent lecture by the Rev. Fr. Kane SJ in the Assembly Rooms’, 'Cork Examiner', 11 Sept. 1899’.
• ‘Celebrations at St. Finn Barr’s Temperance Association Hall’ / Address by Father O’Leary’. 'Cork Examiner', 11 Oct. 1904.
• ‘Fr. Mathew Anniversary / Address by Rev. J.A. Cullen SJ’.
• An address by Fr. Bernard Jennings OSFC on Fr. Mathew in the Assembly Rooms, Cork. 'The Monitor', 15 Oct. 1897.
• ‘Father Mathew / Notable Anniversary / Lecture by Canon Ryan, Thurles’. Refers to a lecture in Father Mathew Memorial Hall, Church Street, Dublin.
• ‘Father Mathew / Birth Anniversary / An Eloquent Appreciation by Fr. Nicholas Murphy OSFC’. 'Irish Catholic', 17 Oct. 1903. Refers to a commemoration in Father Mathew Memorial Hall, Church Street, Dublin.
• ‘Apostle of Temperance / Impressive Ceremonies in Holy Trinity Church’, 'Cork Examiner', 10 Oct. 1910.
• ‘Father Mathew Anniversary / Father Mathew Hall, Queen Street, Cork / Oration by Mr. P.J. O’Neill, Chairman, Dublin County Council’, 'Cork Examiner', 11 Oct. 1910.
• ‘Father Mathew Anniversary / Oration by Very Rev. Fr. Thomas Dowling OSFC / References to Home Rule / Brilliant Discourse in Father Mathew Total Abstinence Hall, Queen Street’, Cork Examiner, 12 Oct. 1912.
• Newspaper cutting of an article titled Carmel in Kinsale re the history of the Carmelites in Kinsale, County Cork. Reference is made in the article to the preaching of a sermon by Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC in the church in 1844. It reads: ‘A manuscript History of the Temperance Reformation by James McKenna, Chief Travelling Secretary to the Very Rev. Theobald Mathew, contains an account of a visit of the Apostle of Temperance to Kinsale in the summer of 1844 … ‘. 'The Southern Star', 14 Dec. 1929.
• Newspaper cutting of article by ‘Dogliente’ re the need for the preservation of Thomastown Castle, Fr. Mathew’s birthplace. A memorandum attached to the cutting reads: ‘Our representative was informed that as far back as 1916 the Superiors of the Capuchin Order were very concerned about the condition of the historic house which through neglect was fast going into a state of ruin. To preserve the house they were prepared, with the sanction of their higher Superiors, to take over the property, but failed to obtain [the] necessary ecclesiastical authority to do so’. 'Cork Examiner', 27 Oct. 1931. Typescript, 1 p.