Some Irish Capuchins displayed a noticeable sympathy with the republican interest during the Civil War. The Church Street community maintained close ties with various republicans including Frank Gallagher who carried out propaganda work on various Anti-Treaty bulletins, newsletters and publications. Gallagher worked alongside Erskine Childers (who was also on good terms with some Capuchin friars) on the republican publicity staff. Both men sided with Éamon de Valera in the Treaty debates. Gallagher and Robert Brennan were significant contributors to the 'Daily Bulletin' which was produced at this time (See CA IR/1/8/3/8). As a consequence, most of the tracts and publicity material obtained by the Capuchins reflected a rigidity to the Sinn Féin version of the conflict and demonstrated an implacable hostility to the Treaty and its supporters.
The sub-series comprises a collection of publicity material relating to primarily to Sinn Féin victories in parliamentary by-elections in 1917. The sub-series also includes election fliers from the trade union and labour movement.
A collection of broadly nationalist newspapers and broadsheets. The sub-series includes cultural, Irish language and labour publications. The sub-series also contains contemporary newspapers reporting on the 1916 Rising and the major events of the War of Independence.
The extensive and often lavish use of photographs in 'The Capuchin Annual' set the publication apart from many other periodicals of the time. Photography in the 'Annual' served a very clear purpose – it projected an idealised image of Ireland to its wide readership in a way that was arguably more effective than any prose. In the early years, scenic views such as ‘Evening in Dublin’ or ‘Killiney Bay’ would appear randomly, but in later years photographic features became far more extensive. The 'Annual’s' photographic archive is particularly rich and constitutes a valuable pictorial record of life in Ireland in the twentieth century.
