A group of Capuchin friars with musical instruments in the Kilkenny Friary in c.1905. Identifiable individuals include: Front row (seated): First on the left: Br. Edward Walsh OFM Cap. (1881-1961) First on the right: Br. Ignatius Collins OFM Cap. (1885-1961)
Second row (seated): First on the right: Br. Edwin Fitzgibbon OFM Cap. (1874-1938) First on the left: Br. Brendan O’Callaghan OFM Cap. (1880-1952)
Third row (standing): First on the right: Br. Albert Bibby OFM Cap. (1877-1925) Second on the right: Br. Cyril O’Sullivan OFM Cap. (1887-1921) Third on the right: Br. Bonaventure Murphy OFM Cap. (1880-1968) Second on the left: Br. Gregory O’Kelly OFM Cap. (d. 9 Apr. 1947) First on the left: Br. Philip King OFM Cap. (1885-1952)
Fourth row (standing): First on the right: Br. Dominic O’Connor OFM Cap. (1883-1935) Second on the right: Br. Malachy Hynes OFM Cap. (1879-1955) Third on the right: Br. Berchmans Cantillon OFM Cap. (1880-1942) Forth on the right: Br. Columbus Murphy OFM Cap. (1881-1962) Second on the left: Br. Adrian Sharkett OFM Cap. (1879-1965) First on the left: Br. Colman Griffin OFM Cap. (1886-1971
A group of Capuchin friars in Kilkenny in about 1907. The title, ‘Conradh na Gaeilge’ (Gaelic League), has been superimposed on the original glass plate. Many of the Capuchin friars were fluent Irish speakers. Some like Fr. Augustine Hayden OFM Cap. and Fr. Albert Bibby OFM Cap. were also enthusiastic members of the Gaelic League, regularly preaching in the native language in Gaeltacht areas. This group includes Fr. Albert Bibby OFM Cap. (standing, first on the right) and Fr. Columbus Murphy OFM Cap. (standing, fifth from the left) who later ministered to rebel combatants in the 1916 Rising. Other friars in the group include Fr. Stanislaus Kavanagh OFM Cap. (standing, fourth from the left) and Fr. Bonaventure Murphy OFM Cap. (standing, third from the right).
An image of (first on the right) Fr. Albert Bibby OFM Cap. (1877-1925) with a group of students possibly at a hurling match in Rochestown, County Cork.
The fonds consists of the correspondence and papers of Capuchin friars detailing their involvement with participants in the national struggle. The majority of the material dates from 1916-1925 and includes many records highlighting the roles played by Irish Capuchins in ministering to republican leaders and their relations. Of particular interest is a large collection of prison letters including the correspondence of some of the leading figures of the Irish Revolution. The fonds also contains a large collection of republican publicity material, newspapers and miscellaneous items of ephemera and artefacts mostly relating to the military and political campaign organised by nationalists for Irish independence. A smaller collection relating to the repatriation of the bodies of Fr. Albert Bibby OFM Cap. and Fr. Dominic O’Connor OFM Cap. from the United States to Ireland in 1958 is also extant.
