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The sub-series includes research chronicling the life and temperance crusade of Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC. Much of the research focuses on narratives of Fr. Mathew’s campaign.

Autobiographical memoir of Canon James Casey (1824-1909). At pp 21-6 reference is made to Casey having taken the pledge from Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC on 22 Sept. 1840. He writes ‘I remember well the crowds and the crushing. … The people were got to kneel down in rows while enthusiastic priests rode among the vast multitude to keep order. The great and special graces showered down that day will never be known till the day of judgement’.

• An article by D. Holland titled ‘Father Mathew / The Great Temperance Apostle described by an able writer who knew him intimately’. The preface states that article appeared in the 'Irish Catholic', 19 Aug. 1905. Typescript, 10 pp.
• A copy article by Justin McCarthy (1830-1912), the historian and politician, on Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC. The article appeared in the 'Catholic Times', 17 Oct. 1890. Typescript, 2 pp.
• Copy speech of J.F. Maguire MP, Lord Mayor, at the unveiling of the Statue of Father Mathew on St. Patrick’s Street, Cork, on 10 Oct. 1864. The speech is taken from the 'Cork Examiner', 10 Oct. 1864. Typescript, 4 pp.
• An article by Jeremiah Dowling titled ‘Father Mathew’, 'The New Ireland Review', Vol. X, (Nov. 1898), pp 140-8. Printed.
• Cutting of an article by Rev. M. Gallagher titled ‘Father Mathew’ published in 'The Irish Rosary' [c.1900]. Printed, 5 pp.
• Cutting of an article titled ‘Monument to the Memory of Father Mathew / Grand Moral Demonstration – Father Conaty’s Oration’. The article refers to the erection of a statue of Fr. Mathew in Salem, Massachusetts. The article includes an engraving of the statue. The Salem chapter of the Father Mathew Catholic Total Abstinence Society was organized in 1875 and purchased its headquarters, the Tucker estate, in 1896. A statue of Father Mathew was erected in 1887 in Salem in his honor. In 1916, the statue was moved from Central and Charter Street to its present location, the corner of Derby and Hawthorne Boulevard (also known as Bertram Park). Printed, 7 pp.
• An article by Davida Franklin, Loreto College, St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin, titled ‘Father Theobald Mathew’. Typescript, 4 pp.
• Notes re the appointment of Provincial Ministers, Definitors, and Guardians of Irish Capuchins houses from 1836-57. The notes include numerous references to the appointment of Fr. Mathew as superior. In 1849 it was noted that Fr. Mathew was departing for the United States and appointed Fr. Francis Murphy OSFC as Vicar Provincial. In 1854, Fr. Mathew made an assignment of the Church of the Most Holy Trinity, Cork, to Fr. Louis Reardon OSFC, Fr. Vincent McLeod OSFC and Fr. Bonaventure Buckley OSFC. Typescript, 4 pp.
• Copy inventory of items loaned to the Cork Public Museum, Fitzgerald Park, Cork, by the Capuchins for purposes of an exhibition on the life of Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC. The items included Fr. Mathew’s missal, a tea pot, dinner plate and a cup decorated with temperance symbols, a trumpet used in Fr. Mathew’s band, temperance medals and pledge certificates, a cross made from a portion of Fr. Mathew’s confessional, and portions of wood from Fr. Mathew’s piano. 22 Feb. 1945. Typescript, 3 pp.
• Booklet for a Solemn Mass of Thanksgiving in honour and commemoration of the foundation of the first Mercy Convent on Rutland Street, Cork, on 6 July 1837. Reference is made to Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC assisting the Sisters in establishing a community in the city. July 1987. Typescript, 10 pp.

• Letter from James A. Clark, St. John’s Seminary, Brighton, Massachusetts, to Fr. Stanislaus Kavanagh OFM Cap., requesting information on sources pertaining to Fr. Mathew’s temperance campaign in the United States. With a copy reply from Fr. Stanislaus giving an outline of the relevant sources extant in the Irish Capuchin Archives in Dublin. Fr. Stanislaus refers to James McKenna’s 'History of the temperance reformation in Ireland, England and Scotland'. He notes that McKenna 'recorded Fr. Mathew’s activities from 1838 to 1844. He died in Cork in 1846. This MS volume is at present in our Archives here in Dublin’. 19 Apr. 1953-17 June 1953. Typescript, 3 pp.
• Notes taken from 'The American Tour of Fr. Mathew' by James A. Clark. The extracts were compiled by Fr. Stanislaus Kavanagh OFM Cap. Manuscript, 1 p.
• Letters from Diarmuid O’Donovan, Crawford School of Art, to Fr. Stanislaus Kavanagh OFM Cap. re busts of Fr. Mathew executed by the sculptor, John Hogan. O’Donovan writes ‘Are your busts both marble? It has been suggested to me that one of yours is a plaster cast’. He also enquires whether the two low-relief masks in stone on either side of the west door of Holy Trinity Church are Hogan’s work. 11 Sept. 1954-16 Nov. 1954. Manuscript and typescript, 3 pp.
• List of errata in 'Father Theobald Mathew: Apostle of Temperance' by Rev. Patrick Rogers (1945). The list was compiled by Fr. Stanislaus Kavanagh OFM Cap. Manuscript, 1 p.
• Note by Fr. Stanislaus Kavanagh OFM Cap. re a lady named Mrs White from Commons’ Road in Cork who was a frequent visitor to Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC. Reference is also given to an entry in a 'Cork Directory' for 1844 which notes that Fr. Denis McLeod OSFC was resident in 41 Cove Street, Fr. George Brennan OSC in 42 Cove Street, Fr. Mathew at 7 Cove Street and Fr. J.P. O’Connell OSFC at 3 Blackamoor Lane. Manuscript, 1 p.
• Extracts from Rev. James Birmingham’s 'A memoir of the Very Rev. Theobald Mathew / with an account of the rise and progress of temperance in Ireland' (Dublin, 2nd edition, 1840). The extracts were compiled by Fr. Stanislaus Kavanagh OFM Cap. Typescript, 6 pp.

An unpublished ‘Memoir of Father Theobald Mathew OSFC / The Apostle of Temperance’ compiled by Fr. Stanislaus Kavanagh OFM Cap. The title page gives a date of 17 March 1929 at the Capuchin Friary, Church Street, Dublin. A list of mainly published sources is given for the text. The memoir is comprised of two parts. Part I: Testimonies and Part II: Father Mathew before 1838.

• Letter to Fr. Angelus Healy OFM Cap. from Sister M. Monica enclosing notes outlining Fr. Mathew’s involvement in bringing the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy to Birr, County Offaly in 1840. The letter is dated 31 Jan. 1941. Manuscript and typescript, 4 pp.
• Notes by Fr. Angelus Healy OFM Cap. re portraits of Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC. The principal source for the notes appears to be Walter G. Strickland’s 'A Dictionary of Irish Artists' (1913). The file includes references to the following:
Edward David Leahy (1797-1875). ‘He painted a portrait of Fr. Mathew in 1846. Held in the National Portrait Gallery’.
Daniel MacDonald (1821-1853). ‘He painted a portrait of Fr. Mathew and engraved it in mezzotint ….’.
Samuel West (b. about 1810, d. after 1867). ‘Portrait of Fr. Mathew, belonged to the late Sir James Mathew. It was engraved by W.O. Geller’.
Cutting from the 'Cork Examiner', 3 Nov. 1931, referring to a drawing of Fr. Mathew by George Cruikshank which had recently been sold at auction in Sotheby’s in London. A note attached to the drawing read: ‘This sketch was made before I became a pump myself. But I am happy to say that I have been a total abstainer for 26 years, up to this date, July 26th, 1873’.
[c.1915]. Manuscript and cutting, 8 pp.
• Letter from Fr. Angelus Healy OFM Cap. to Fr. Stanislaus Kavanagh OFM Cap. referring to Fr. Augustine Hayden’s contention in his 'Footprints of Father Mathew' that Fr. Mathew ‘resigned the office of Provincial Minister’. 19 Jan. 1948. Typescript, 1 p.

• Letters of Fr. Nessan Shaw OFM Cap. to Fr. Stanislaus Kavanagh OFM Cap. re James McKenna’s unpublished history of Fr. Mathew’s temperance movement. Fr. Nessan also refers to Fr. Mathew’s ancestry and genealogy and to work on his MA thesis. July 1939-Dec. 1939. Manuscript, 7 pp.
• Letters from J. Neiland, General Post Office, Waterford, to Fr. Nessan Shaw OFM Cap. enclosing ‘an old Police record of Father Mathew’s visits to Waterford’ in December 1839 and May 1840. 7 May 1937-28 Nov. 1938. Manuscript and typescript, 4 pp.
• Copybook containing notes by Fr. Nessan Shaw OFM Cap. on the history of temperance societies in Cork, Fr. Mathew’s role in organising the temperance movement, conditions for the poor in Ireland, and the onset of the famine. The notes appear to be derived from the surviving manuscripts of James McKenna, Fr. Mathew’s secretary. Manuscript, 44 pp.
• Copybook containing notes by Fr. Nessan Shaw OFM Cap. titled ‘Fr. Mathew – I. Franciscans / II. Spiritual life and priestly administration’. The notes refer to Fr. Mathew’s education, his spirituality, and the Capuchins in Ireland in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Includes references and notes from the account book of the Capuchin Friary in Cork from 1821 to 1857. Manuscript, 52 pp.
• Notes by Fr. Nessan Shaw OFM Cap. referring to the completion of Holy Trinity (Father Mathew Memorial) Church, Cork. The notes read ‘In consultation with Mr. George C. Ashlin … a competition was organized amongst architects of repute for a design which would be suitable for the completion of the Church. From the many entries received that of Mr. D.J. Coakley of Cork city was accepted … [as] being possible with the limits of their financial resources – fixed at £6,000. Mr. John Sisk, the successful Cork builder, was declared the contractor’. The Church spire was finally completed on 4 Aug. 1891. Typescript, 6 pp.
• Letter to Fr. Nessan Shaw OFM Cap. from Jim O’Brien, 12 St. Ann’s Park, Turners’ Cross, Cork, referring to his father’s temperance medal and to his father’s role in the Father Mathew Players in Cork in 1918. Manuscript, 1 p. [c.1985].

Letters to Fr. Nessan Shaw OFM Cap. relating to his research on the life and temperance campaign of Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC. Most of the letters refer to sources tracing Fr. Mathew’s ancestry. The correspondents include:
• Fr. E. Dowling, Cathabawn, Johnstown, County Kilkenny. Re Theobald Mathew’s early education in the Kilkenny Academy from 1803-7.
• Fr. Stanislaus Kavanagh OFM Cap. Re a list of Fr. Mathew’s siblings.
• David Mathew. Re the ancestry and genealogy of Fr. Mathew.
• Rev. Wallace Clare. Re the genealogy of Fr. Mathew.
• Fr. Gervase Mathew OP, Blackfriars, Oxford. Re Fr. Mathew’s genealogy and the disposition of the Mathew family papers in their possession.
• Br. De Sales. Enclosing extracts relating to Fr. Mathew from the diary of W.J. O’Neill Daunt (1807-1894).
• Fr. Brendan O’Callaghan OFM Cap. Enclosing brief extracts from the General Capuchin Archives in Rome re Fr. Mathew.
• Fr. T.J. Walsh, South Presbytery Cork. Enclosing a note from Jack J. O’Shea re the poems of John Paul Dalton (a Cork-born poet) titled ‘The Centenary of Father Mathew’ and ‘A Legend of Father Mathew’.

Notes by Fr. Nessan Shaw OFM Cap. on the life of Fr. Mathew and events connected with the temperance campaign. The file also includes some material relating to the general history of the Capuchins in Ireland. Includes:
• Note re the foundation of the Total Abstinence Association on Halston Street by Fr. Columbus Maher OSFC in c.1880. The note also refers to the foundation of The Father Mathew Record (1908), the Father Mathew Feis (1909), the opening of Father Mathew Park, Fairview, Dublin, by Fr. Aloysius Travers OSFC on 10 April 1910, and the establishment of the Young Irish Crusaders in 1909.
• Letter from the Public Record Office of Ireland to Fr. Nessan regarding a document (1840) in the Chief Secretary Office’s papers referring to an application from the Irish Temperance Union for the use of Smithfield Penitentiary. The letter reads ‘The application is based on the fact that the number of prisoners detained in the Richmond Bridewell was reduced from 313 in September 1839 to 191 in November 1840 “between these two periods the Temperance Reformation had greatly extended itself throughout the city”’. The letter is dated 15 Feb. 1955.
• Photostat copy from Fr. Thomas C. Butler OSA, The Augustinians in Cork, 1280-1985 (1986). The extracts refer to the presence of the Capuchin friars in Cork from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries.
• Photostat copy from Desmond Bowen, 'Paul Cardinal Cullen and the shaping of modern Irish Catholicism' (Dublin, 1983). The extracts refer to the relationship between Cardinal Cullen and the temperance campaigner.
• Notes by Fr. Nessan re places visited by Fr. Mathew in support of his temperance campaign in 1842.
• Letter from Michael O’Connell to Fr. Nessan re the preaching of Fr. Mathew at the dedication of Blackrock parish church in Dublin in Sept. 1845. The letter is dated 25 Jan. 1992.
• Note titled ‘The façade and spire of Holy Trinity Church, Cork’. The note provides a general history of the completion of work on the church for the centenary of Fr. Mathew’s birth and also refers to the blessing of the new bell in the church on 26 Apr. 1896. The note reads ‘Having “baptized” the Bell, the Bishop [of Cork] rounded it, being followed by the sponsors Mr Humphrey Donovan (the donor) and Miss H. Donovan, his sister’.
• Note by Fr. Nessan titled ‘O’Connell and Repeal, 1840-47’.
• Cutting from 'The Standard', Dec. 1949, surveying various Catholic churches in Dublin. The article includes photographic prints of St. Michan’s Church, Halston Street. The article also refers to nearby Newgate Prison on Green Street. It reads ‘In 1863 the prison was substantially demolished and converted into fruit market which gave way, in 1893, to St. Michan’s Park, where the statue of Erin stands, with the plaques of Lord Edward Fitzgerald and the Sheares brothers on the pedestal’. The article also refers to the Capuchin chapel on Church Street. It reads ‘In 1720, they [the Capuchins] moved to Church Street, where their chapel in 1749 “had an Altar-piece showing the Crucifixion; though formerly it was a painting of Our Saviour taken down from the Cross, which piece is much esteemed by connoisseurs”. The Capuchin Church, in Church Street, of 1720, was taken down in 1868, and the present church was erected on its site and completed in 1881’.

Notecards compiled by Fr. Nessan Shaw OFM Cap. on various aspects of Fr. Mathew’s life and his temperance campaign. Some of the note cards are given subject-headings including ‘Education’, Franciscanism’, ‘Poverty’, ‘Intemperance’, ‘appearance of Fr. Mathew’, and ‘Fr. Mathew’s ideas on capital punishment’.