Although the Irish Capuchins had a long tradition of involvement with the temperance movement, their connection with this apostolate was reinvigorated in 1905 when the Catholic hierarchy invited the Order to preach a ‘national crusade’ on the merits of total abstinence. The Capuchins’ commitment to sobriety as a moral and social ideal was promoted through the founding of lay sodalities and temperance halls where the pledge to abstain from alcohol was taken. The Father Mathew Memorial Hall on Church Street was opened in 1891. Funded by voluntary subscriptions, this temperance hall was built by Joseph Kelly & Sons of Thomas Street, Dublin. The total cost was about £4,000. It was designed by Walter Glynn Doolin and was initially plainly decorated. Before the addition of extensions in 1904 the main auditorium was 73 feet in length and 39 feet wide. In total, there was accommodation for about 900 people. There was also a coffee bar, a billiard room, and a reading room. The interior of the auditorium was greatly embellished in 1909 when an elaborate proscenium arch, stage and gallery were added. The plasterwork was executed by the firm of John Ryan of Upper Abbey Street to the designs of Anthony Scott of O’Connell Street, Dublin. This series comprises records relating to the Hall’s primary function to promote sobriety ‘by providing instruction and healthful amusement’. It should be noted that the Hall’s drama group, band, debating society and athletics’ club were initially only open to total abstainers. The records also reflect the varied social functions of the Hall.
This section includes mainly administrative files relating to the ministries undertaken by the Capuchin community in Dublin. The series includes records of masses, internal community records and minute books, correspondence, schedules, and records of appointments and transfers to the Church Street Friary.
The series contains correspondence, publications, posters, circulars, newspaper cuttings and ephemera relating to various commemorations of Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC from the late nineteenth century onward. The series has been divided into seven sub-series relating to a particular anniversary (centenary or bicentenary) or commemoration of Fr. Mathew and his temperance crusade.
This section includes mainly administrative files relating to the ministries undertaken by the Capuchin community at Holy Trinity Church and Friary in Cork. The series includes records of masses, internal community records and minute books, correspondence, schedules and records of elections (mainly for the guardianship of the Cork house).
The series includes records relating to general missions, retreats and tridua given by the Capuchin friars to parishes, lay confraternities, sodalities and associations, working men’s clubs, and (particularly) religious congregations and societies. The series contains administrative records including mission lists, schedules and reports. A large assemblage of correspondence is also extant.
The series includes records relating to temperance missions preached by the Irish Capuchin friars in the late nineteenth century and in the early years of the twentieth century. In October 1905 the Irish Catholic hierarchy called upon the Capuchins to undertake a nationwide temperance crusade. The friars preached dozens of temperance missions in parishes throughout the country. It was noted in 1912 that their ‘labours in the parishes partook much of the character of short missions or spiritual exercises, sometimes for three days, often times for a week, and not infrequently a fortnight … going from parish to parish, as consecutively as possibly, over a district. Experience proves that in the question of drink, the influence of one locality tells very much for good or for evil’ (CA MR-1-2-1-4). The series includes local mission reports, subscription and pledge-taking records, correspondence, publicity material, ephemera and newspaper reports relating to the temperance crusade.
This series comprises records relating to various local organisations and significant events in the Church Street area. The documents broadly reflect the interactions of the Capuchin friars with the locality.
The series includes lantern slides and glass plate photographic images relating to the life and career of Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC (1790-1856), a famed nineteenth century temperance campaigner and Capuchin friar. It is very probable that these lantern slides were used as illustrative aids by the Capuchins for public talks and auditorium lectures on Fr. Mathew’s campaign against intoxicating liquor. Temperance activity was revived in 1905 when the Irish Catholic hierarchy invited the Capuchins to preach a National Crusade. This revival generated widespread public enthusiasm and by 1912 the Capuchins had administered over a million pledges throughout the country. The lanterns slides were, in all probability, used in this campaign. The collection includes images of various places associated with Fr. Mathew’s life and notable events associated with his crusade against intoxicating liquor which began in Cork in 1838. Other images relate to later commemorations of Fr. Mathew and include photographs of the ‘Father Mathew Pavilion’ at the Cork International Exhibition of 1902 which displayed historical artefacts, devotional objects and personal paraphernalia associated with his campaign.
