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Correspondence of the Most Rev. Richard Alphonsus Sheehan (1845-1915), Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, with Fr. Paul Neary OSFC, Provincial Minister, re the resolution of the Irish Catholic hierarchy that ‘the Capuchin Fathers be asked to set apart a certain number of their body for the preaching of a Temperance Crusade in the Country’. A manuscript addition on one copy of the letters reads: ‘Copy of above sent to Fr. Finbarr’s, Cork, at his request (Fr. Albert Bibby, 26 Feb. 1918)’. With copy replies to Bishop Sheehan and the Most Rev. Patrick Foley (1858-1926), Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, and several copies of 'Suggestions for temperance work submitted to the standing committee of Bishops' (January 1906).

Draft report (28 Feb. 1907) by Fr. Paul Neary OSFC (1857-1939), Provincial Minister, on the work of the first year of the National Temperance Crusade led by the Capuchin friars. The report was compiled for Fr. Bernard Christen of Andermatt OSFC, Minister General of the Capuchin Order in Rome. With a cover letter (21 May 1907) from Fr. Paul and a manuscript copy of Fr. Bernard’s reply. The report reads:
‘The Irish Bishops confided this National Crusade to us in October 1905 … but the preaching of the Crusade did not practically begin before January 1906. … The preaching of this Temperance Crusade was specially carried out by twelve of our Fathers, who have been almost constantly engaged during the time. Their labours in the parishes partook much of the character of short missions or spiritual exercises, sometimes for three days, other times a week, and not infrequently a fortnight’.
The report also includes testimonials from various Irish bishops and other prominent figures commending the work of the Capuchin friars in leading the temperance crusade.

Address on temperance delivered by Fr. Paul Neary OSFC (1857-1939) in Dublin on 10 Dec. 1905. The address was published as an 'Irish Supplement to the Bulletin' in January 1906.

Bound volume containing newspaper clippings providing accounts of the tenement collapse and the subsequent funeral and burial of the seven victims. The clippings also give lists of subscribers to the relief fund established after the disaster. The volume also contains a manuscript list of twenty-seven Capuchin friars at St. Marys of the Angels, Church Street, at Rochestown College, and at Father Mathew’s (Holy Trinity) Church in Cork. The list is headed by Fr. Paul Neary OSFC, ‘the Lord Mayor’s Chaplain’. The list also includes Fr. Joseph Fenlon OSFC, ‘superior of Fr. Mathew’s Church, Cork’, and Fr. Edwin Fitzgibbon OSFC, President, Rochestown College, Cork. The volume also contains a manuscript list of people with private addresses in the environs of Church Street and North King Street. The list also notes ‘Father Mathew Hall’ for all the signatories. This may be a list of members of a religious sodality or, alternatively, a list of subscribers to the Tenement Disaster fund.

• Note re the ordination of Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC. It affirms that he received minor orders on 12 March 1813 and was appointed a deacon on 3 April 1813. He was ordained to the priesthood on 17 April 1814 in Townsend Street Church, Dublin. Fr. Angelus Healy OFM Cap. notes that this information was extracted from the archives in Archbishop’s House in Dublin. Manuscript and typescript, 4 pp.
• Copybook containing notes on temperance subjects possibly compiled by Fr. Paul Neary OSFC (1857-1939). Includes extracts from Battersby’s Catholic Directory (1847-9) and notes for a talk on the life and temperance mission of Fr. Mathew. Reference is also made to notes for lantern slides used to illustrate the talk. The images include Thomastown Castle (Fr. Mathew’s birthplace), the old Capuchin friary on Blackamoor Lane, Cork, views of Holy Trinity Church, temperance medals, the Father Mathew Statue on St. Patrick’s Street, Cork, portraits and engravings. See also digitised glass plate collection (CA PH-2) where some of these lantern slides are extant. Manuscript, 45 pp.
• List of lantern slides used to illustrate a talk on Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC in 1904. Each slide has an accompanying note and explanatory comment. The final page has a transcription of a letter from Fr. Mathew to John O’Connell, eldest son of Daniel O’Connell, offering his condolences on the death of his father (4 June 1847). See also digitised glass plate collection (CA PH-2) where some of these lantern slides are extant. Manuscript and typescript, 10 pp.
• Biographical sketch of Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC probably compiled by Fr. Francis Hayes OSFC (1866-1946). Manuscript, 45 pp.
• Clipping an article by Rev. Joseph Corr C.Ss.R. titled ‘Athenry Abbey and Esker Monastery’ published in 'The Redemptorist Record' in March 1939. The article refers to Fr. Mathew preaching at the consecration of the new church at Esker in 1844. Printed, 2 pp.
• Extracts from John Francis Maguire’s 'Father Mathew / A Biography'. Manuscript, 10 pp.
• Notes re contemporary printed sources relating to Fr. Mathew and his temperance campaign. Includes reference to newspapers, manuals, biographies and pamphlets. Manuscript, 2 pp.
• Liam Maher, 'Temperance in Ireland' (Dublin: Catholic Truth Society of Ireland, 1959). Printed, 20 pp.
• Letter from Andrew McIntyre, The Diamond, Lifford, County Donegal, to Fr. David Kelleher OFM Cap. referring to a visit by Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC to County Donegal on 15 June 1841. He wrote ‘The Medal Hill in 1841 was not planted. It was bare and rounded on all sides, so that Father Mathew was able to stand at the top with the people around him on all sides. Of course, the great majority of these people were Catholics, but there were many Protestants. I knew one, Alick Moffatt, of Ballymore, who was there that day, and took the Pledge, and kept it for several years. He often talked of the great day. My grandfather, James Collins, took the pledge on that day and kept it until his death on 19th January 1893’. 22 Feb. 1955. Typescript, 2 pp.
• Booklet for a Mass Celebration on Medal Hill (formerly Doe Chapel) near Creeslough in County Donegal to mark Fr. Mathew’s temperance gathering at the same location on 15 June 1841. The commemorative mass was held on 21 August 1988. With (colour) photograph prints of the unveiling of a commemorative plaque at the location and newspaper cuttings from the 'Donegal People’s Press', 26 August 1988 of photographs from the open-air mass. 9 items.

Correspondence relating to the transfer of properties on Church Street (nos. 155-157) to lay trustees of the Catholic Boys’ Brigade. Correspondents include, Thomas J. Furlong, solicitor, 11 Eustace Street, Dublin, Fr. Fiacre Brophy OSFC, Fr. Paul Neary OSFC, Provincial Minister, William Mooney & Son, solicitors, 16 Fleet Street, Dublin, Michael Murphy, solicitor, 44 South Mall, Cork, and John Jameson, Bow Street Distillery, Dublin. Most of the correspondence relates to instructions to be given to solicitors with respect to the drawing up of a conveyance for the above-mentioned properties and to the need for approval of the deed which allows Fr. Matthew O’Connor OSFC and Fr. Peter Bowe OSFC to retire from their trusteeship. John Jameson assured Fr. Fiacre that ‘this company would be very reluctant to put up a building that would be objectionable to your community. … I thought there was no likelihood of the neighbourly relations which have always existed between this company and yourselves being interrupted’. On 20 Dec. 1904 Fr. Paul Neary OSFC stated that the ‘members of our Order who are trustees of the Church Street premises of the Boys’ Brigade have no desire to continue their trusteeship and are willing to hand it to any persons to whom they can do so, without breach of their trust’.

Letters from the Most Rev. Patrick O’Donnell (1856-1927), Bishop of Raphoe, to Fr. Paul Neary OSFC, Provincial Minister, re the progress of temperance work in County Donegal.

Letters to Fr. Paul Neary OSFC, Provincial Minster, requesting parish missions and retreats. The letters are mostly from local clerics. Some of the letters provide information on religious practices and temperance activities in the locality. The file includes letters requesting missions in Louisburgh (Mayo), Clare Island (Mayo), Westport (Mayo), Carrick-on-Suir (Tipperary), Newport (Mayo), Clonmel (Tipperary), Waterford and Cahir (Tipperary). The file also includes some copy replies from Fr. Paul.

• Flier from the Father Mathew Centenary Committee seeking subscriptions for a fund for the completion of Holy Trinity (Father Mathew) Memorial Church, Cork. The flier includes a list of subscribers and the amounts given to the fund. March 1889. Printed, 1 p.
• Copy programme for a ‘Grand Vocal and Instrumental Concert in aid of the Father Mathew Centenary Celebration’ performed by the Cork Amateur Orchestral Society in the Opera House, Cork, on 9 Oct. 1889. The programme includes a recital of the Centenary Ode by Fr. Michael O’Flynn, CC, Saint Peter and Saint Paul’s Church, Cork. Copy print, 1 p.
• Copy obedience to Br. Masseo Hyland OSFC (d. 18 May 1908) allowing him to travel to the United States with Fr. Mathew O’Connor OSFC to receive subscriptions for the celebrations of the centenary of the Father Theobald Mathew and the completing of the Church of the Most Holy Trinity in Cork …’. The obedience is signed by Fr. Paul Neary OSFC, Provincial Minister, and is dated at Rochestown, 18 Oct. 1889. With a copy of a similar obedience (in Latin) to Fr. Mathew O’Connor OSFC. Manuscript, 3 pp.
• Notes re the Fr. Mathew ephemera and relics used in the Centenary Exhibition in 1890. The exhibited items included:
A banner painted by a sister from the South Presentation Convent.
A lock of Father Mathew’s hair which was loaned by Frank Driscoll, Garrick Street, Covent Garden, London. It is affirmed that ‘it was given to a Mr Regan, a devoted follower of Fr. Mathew, a few months before he died’.
A pair of heavy silver spectacles.
Temperance medals and cards including ‘the first medal sold in Cork by Fr. Mathew – sold to Wm. Kelly, and sent in by his daughter, Mrs Daly of Evergreen Street’.
A bible lent by Mrs Donegan, Monkstown. It had been given to Fr. Mathew by Mrs Donegan’s Aunt.
The file also includes notes by Fr. Nessan Shaw OFM Cap. on the wider centenary celebrations of Fr. Mathew’s birth in 1890. Many of the extracts appear to have been taken from the 'Cork Examiner'. Manuscript and typescript, 9 pp.
• Copybook containing extracts from 'The Standard' (14 Oct. 1889) and the 'Freeman’s Journal' (25 Oct. 1889) reporting on a meeting of a committee organising the commemorations of the centenary of the birth of Fr. Mathew. The article in 'The Standard' reads ‘As a rule the inhabitants of the sister island find it anything but easy to discover a common ground on which they may meet each other without fear of dispute. The names of famous Irishmen are usually rather emblems of discord than national rallying cries. According as the great men in Irish history were Protestant or Catholic loyal or disloyal men of the North, or men of the South so did they receive the sympathy or dislike of the various sections of the population. Hardly one of them is capable of uniting even for a moment the sentiment of the whole country … . The zealous and single-hearted priest whom the Irish race with its love of picturesque phraseology knows as the “Apostle of Temperance” is one of the very few persons whom the whole country agrees to honour. That Father Mathew was a brave and good man, and that he did his best to succour and to raise the peasantry is a fact which is never disputed in Ireland’. Extensive reference is also made to the plan to erect a statue on O’Connell Street commemorating the temperance campaigner. Manuscript, 23 pp.
• 'The Father Mathew Centenary / by John Francis Maguire / 1890' (Cork: Irish Temperance League, 1890). Printed, 8 pp.
• An article from 'The Shamrock' on the unveiling of the statue of Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC on O’Connell Street, Dublin. It reads ‘Father Mathew needs no statue to perpetuate his memory … but it is only proper that in the Capital of his Nation a grateful people should testify by some public memorial their recognition of his services, and should set his image in their streets as a witness of their gratitude. … Father Mathew would never have been suspected of being a clergyman from his dress. He wore no clerical coat or hat. He dressed like a gentleman of the time in a frock coat, hessian boots and a tall hat. Yet it was as a Capuchin Friar he did his marvellous work, and it is quite appropriate that in the statue which has been just unveiled in Dublin he should appear in the habit of that order. The statue is a fine work of art. It is by Irish hand, and the sculptor, to whom we offer our congratulations, is Miss Mary Redmond’. The article includes a sketch of the statue and of Thomastown Castle, Fr. Mathew’s birthplace. Feb. 1893. Printed, 4 pp.