The sub-series contains an important collection of original temperance society medals. Most of the medals in the collection are associated with Fr. Mathew’s campaign but some relate to temperance activities before and after him. The Cork Total Abstinence Society’s medals were important because they served as important reminders of the pledge, and also as miniature temperance catechisms for the many illiterates who took the pledge. Fr. Mathew’s medals were large and inscribed with familiar religious symbolism. Most were of pewter, although some silver and gold medals were also available for particularly distinguished members. Generally, one side had the words of the pledge within a shining cross, together with Fr. Mathew’s name and the Society’s founding date (10 April 1838). The reverse depicted a well-dressed man, carrying a banner, ‘prosperity’, and a woman, ‘domestic comfort’, stood next to a lamb, surmounted by a cross and an angel. This scene was overlaid by the Latin phrase, In hoc signo vinces (‘by this sign shall you conquer’).
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.
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 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.
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.
