Showing 1832 results

The present-day St. Mary of the Angels on Church Street is the third chapel to be built on this site. Roscommon House, which housed the original late seventeenth-century chapel, stood on ground situated to the front of the modern church. This first church, already repaired in 1736, was taken down and a slightly larger one erected in 1796. The Irish Capuchin Archives holds an eighteenth-century account book of the Dublin Capuchin community which seems to be have been used for the registering of the names of subscribers towards the rebuilding of the chapel and which contains the names of benefactors. Unfortunately, the account book bears no date but it may refer to either the repair work of 1736 or to the building of the 'second church' in 1796 (See CA CS/3/1/1). The plot of ground on which the original church stood was acquired in a lease of 4 August 1826 from Thomas Pakenham, 2nd Earl of Longford, and John Vesey, 2nd Viscount de Vesci to Fr. Bonaventure Delaney OSFC. This lease described the plot as being ‘formerly in the possession of James Topham and afterwards in the tenancy of Robert Clements … and whereupon a Roman Catholic chapel is now built’. (See CA CS/2/2/1/2). Another lease of 1834 dealing with property which adjoined the church and which is now incorporated into the grounds of the present-day Friary describes the plot as being bounded on the south side by what was formerly known as Roscommon House, ‘now a chapel and chapel yard’. It appears that damage caused to the 1796 Church by the great storm of January 1839 may have given added impetus to the building of a larger edifice. At any rate, the Capuchin friars were finding their church inadequate and were considering building a larger structure as well as an adjoining friary residence for the religious.
A major difficulty confronting the friars in the matter of building a new chapel was the lack of space on Church Street on which to expand. Although the site of the church was sold in fee simple in 1875 to Fr. Daniel Patrick O’Reilly OSFC (1831-1894) for an extended period of time no further ground could be procured. In 1861, Fr. Lawrence Gallerani OSFC, an Italian friar, was appointed Commissary-General of the Capuchins in Ireland and quickly set about building a new friary and church in Dublin. For some time, Fr. Gallerani gave consideration to building a new chapel on North King Street. However, the Capuchins went no further than establishing a small friary on the site of 49-50 North King Street and plans to build a church on an adjoining site on this street came to nothing. By the late 1860s, the difficulties experienced by Gallerani in securing a plot of ground-space adjacent to the existing chapel on Church Street had been overcome as in 1867 some property was acquired from Jameson & Sons. The friars lost no time in laying the groundwork for a new church. The foundation stone was laid on 12 June 1868 by Archbishop Paul Cullen. A significant portion of the church was built by direct labour with a clerk of works supervising the tradesmen in carrying out the instructions of the architect, James Joseph McCarthy (1817-1882). The façade of the church was not completed until 1882. The Church of St. Mary of the Angels was formally dedicated on 4 October 1882 by Cardinal Edward McCabe, Archbishop of Dublin. Aside from deeds and leases relating to the St. Mary of the Angels site, this section also contains documents recording legal declarations and obligations in respect of the construction of the church in the latter half of the nineteenth century.

This section contains leases and deeds relating to the acquisition by the Capuchin friars of premises on Father Mathew Quay. The Quay is situated on a reclaimed marsh which was located outside the old city walls. Historically, the area was known by several names, some of which are used in the deeds described below including Island Nagay, Red Abbey Island and Marsh, and Morrison’s Island after a family which was prominent in the civic affairs of Cork in the eighteenth century. From about 1800 it was commonly known as Charlotte Quay before being renamed Father Mathew Quay in honour of the Capuchin friar and ‘Apostle of Temperance’. After the reclamation of the marsh in the eighteenth century, the area became an important merchant, commercial and industrial centre. John Henry Gamble, a notable businessman engaged in the provisioning trade, held leasehold interests in several of the premises on Charlotte Quay which were subsequently acquired by the Capuchins (see CA HT/2/1/1/5, CA HT/2/1/1/7, and CA HT/2/1/1/9). J.H. Gamble & Company was later acquired by the famous food provisioning company, Crosse and Blackwell Limited. Another prominent trader engaged in business on the Quay was Robert Warner, a master cooper and vintner. In 1875 Warner leased a substantial plot of ground on Charlotte Quay to Fr. Cherubini Mazzini OSFC for 750 years. This ground was subsequently used as the site for the present-day Holy Trinity Friary (See CA HT/2/1/2/13). The section also includes many legal documents covering negotiations between the Capuchins and Alicia Louisa Seward, a granddaughter of Robert Warner, for the outright purchase of the freehold of the property. This purchase was realized in 1951. The section also includes the lease made to Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC in 1832 of a plot of ground on Morrison’s Island upon which Holy Trinity Church was subsequently built (see CA HT/2/1/2/10).

This section includes deeds, leases and other legal documents relating to the title to three houses fronting onto Church Street (nos. 138-140) which subsequently became part of the present-day Capuchin Friary. It was evident that Fr. Nicholas Murphy OSFC (1849-1923) and the other Capuchins friars were eager to purchase these derelict properties with the intention of ‘pulling down the houses’ in order to expand the Friary. In 1886, Fr. Nicholas succeeded in acquiring these plots which later became part of the Friary garden. By 1914, a solicitor reported that all traces of the original buildings and houses had completely disappeared.

This section relates to two houses on Walkin Street which were formerly known as the Munster Arms. A Kilkenny newspaper, 'Finn’s Leinster Journal' (18 July 1770), included an article which referred to an old Inn known as 'The Munster Arms' on Walkin Street. The plot of ground on which this building stood was situated opposite the existing Capuchin Friary on Walkin Street. The buildings were purchased by the Capuchins in 1896 and part of the Munster Arms’ site was given over to Bishop Abraham Brownrigg in lieu of an alms house or charitable institution which was located on the opposite, Friary side of Walkin Street and which was subsequently demolished and incorporated into the existing Friary building (see CA KK/2/1/1/1/15). One of the above-mentioned houses on the Munster Arms site was retained and let to a tenant in order to meet the annual rent of £13 7s 8d on the property (see CA KK/2/1/1/2/5). The section includes deeds with numerous references to the historic owners of the Munster Arms and Alms House sites on Walkin Street including the Colles and Empson families. It is likely that part of Munster Arms site is currently occupied by a property now known as 17 Friary Street which was subsequently sold by the Capuchins (see section 2.1.1.2. below).

Although the association of the Capuchin friars with the Walkin Street (now Friary Street) area of Kilkenny dates to the late seventeenth century, the documents in this section relate primarily to the present-day Church of St. Francis, built by Fr. Peter Joseph Mulligan OSFC (1793-1853) in 1848. The section also contains documents relating to the subsequent extensions to the Friary, most notably in 1897 when a large three-storey building between Walkin Street and Pennyfeather Lane was constructed to provide, among other things, accommodation for novices. The relatively large number of documents relating to the Walkin Street properties has necessitated the creation of a further three sub-sub-series relating to a particular plot of ground, purchase or sale.

This section includes documents relating to the old Capuchin Friary, known as the South Friary, situated on Blackamoor Lane in Cork.

This section includes deeds, leases and other legal documents relating to the title of properties on Carter’s Lane which was located off Bow Street. The documents mostly relate to properties and a dairy yard situated on Carter’s Lane between Bow Street and Smithfield Market. The section also includes the correspondence of Fr. Nicholas Murphy OSFC with the Corporation of Dublin regarding a scheme for the improvement of the area around Carter’s Lane.

This section includes deeds, leases and other legal documents relating to the acquisition of properties and plots of ground at 47-50 North King Street. In 1861, Fr. Lawrence Gallerani OSFC was appointed Capuchin Commissary General in Ireland. He immediately set about the task of building a new Capuchin Friary and Church in Dublin. When he could not procure any ground near the existing chapel on Church Street (except on a short lease of thirty years), he begun to look for another site, and found one at 47-50 North King Street. With the permission of the Most Rev. Paul Cullen (1803-1878), Archbishop of Dublin, he set about acquiring these sites. First, he got possession of nos. 49 and 50 and the two houses were fitted up as a temporary friary pending the erection of new buildings. On 23 July 1862, the Capuchin community left their residence at 18 Queen Street and took up residence in North King Street. Later that year, Fr. Gallerani obtained possession of two more houses (nos. 47-8), and on the advice of the Archbishop, began to build a friary before commencing work on a new church. Partly as a result of the opposition of the parish clergy of St. Michan’s, the Capuchins went no further on North King Street than building the friary which they inhabited for several years. The North King Street properties were sold by the Capuchins in 1883, when the present-day Friary was built on Church Street.

This section includes deeds and leases relating to the acquisition of 142 Church Street, formerly known as ‘the Swan Inn’, which later became part of the present-day Capuchin Friary. In 1809, Fr. Patrick Corcoran OSFC secured a plot of ground between Bow Street and the old Capuchin chapel (built in 1796) on which he erected a building, the lower part of which formed what was known as the ‘Church Street Schools’, with the upper storey being used as a residence for some of the religious. By the 1870s, Fr. Daniel Patrick O’Reilly OSFC and other Capuchin friars from North King Street were keen to secure outright title to 142 Church Street in order to build a new friary adjacent to St. Mary of the Angels. Fr. O’Reilly wrote to his solicitor in March 1874 expressing his intent on ‘having it at any cost’. However, by this point, the title to the properties had become increasingly complicated as rents for the plots and title to the premises thereon were seemingly vested in joint owners. Nevertheless, the Capuchins succeeded in purchasing 142 Church Street at a public auction held on 30 March 1874.