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Theobald Mathew was born at Thomastown Castle near the village of Golden in County Tipperary on 10 October 1790. The Mathews were an old, landed family with both Catholic and Protestant branches. Francis Mathew (1738-1806) was the owner of Thomastown Castle. He was created Viscount Landaff in 1793, and then Earl Landaff in 1797 (the title derived from the place in Wales from which the family had come to Ireland in the seventeenth century). The title was sometimes referred to as the Earldom of Llandaff since that is the more common Welsh spelling, but it is Earl Landaff in the Peerage of Ireland. The Mathews of Thomastown held this title from 1797 to 1833. In the 1760s, Francis Mathew had adopted his orphaned cousin, James Mathew, Theobald’s father. On reaching adulthood, James was appointed the agent for the Mathew estate. Unlike many of the Mathews, James remained a Catholic throughout his life. His wife, Anne Whyte, was also a Catholic. They had twelve children, the fourth of whom was Theobald. The young Theobald Mathew had a privileged childhood, enjoying favoured treatment from his Protestant relation, Lady Elizabeth Mathew, the daughter of Francis Mathew. Lady Elizabeth knew and approved of Theobald’s priestly ambitions, and in 1800 she provided the money to pay for his education at St. Canice’s, a Catholic boarding school in Kilkenny. In September 1807, Theobald enrolled at St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth, for seminary training. However, his plans were upset when in his first year he was forced to leave Maynooth to avoid being expelled for holding what appears to have been a drunken party for his fellow students. He was subsequently accepted by the Capuchin Franciscan Order as a novice and he made his way to Church Street in Dublin to be trained. The Capuchins, in common with many of the religious orders in Ireland, were weak at this time and were thus extremely anxious for new recruits.

On 3 April 1813 Mathew was ordained a deacon. A year later he was ordained a priest by the Most Rev. Daniel Murray (1768-1852), later Archbishop of Dublin. After a brief sojourn in Kilkenny, Fr. Mathew moved back to Cork where he came under the influence of Fr. Daniel Donovan OSFC (d. 14 Jan. 1821) who was elected Provincial Minister of the Irish Capuchins in 1816. Fr. Mathew devoted a good deal of his time to practical charitable enterprises, establishing schools for poor and orphaned children. In these schools the children were taught household skills in addition to elementary subjects. In 1821, Fr. Donovan died, and Fr. Mathew was elected his successor as Provincial Minister. He would continue to hold this position until 1851. In 1832, he broke ground for an elaborate, Gothic-style Capuchin church in Cork (subsequently called The Church of the Most Holy Trinity), on Charlotte Quay (later renamed Father Mathew Quay). Due to a lack of funds the church would remain unfinished in Fr. Mathew’s lifetime. It was not until 1890 that the spire and façade were added. Nevertheless, Fr. Mathew gained an excellent reputation in the local community for his tireless endeavours in support of the poor of Cork. He was also noted for his exceptional spirit of ecumenism. He was on friendly terms with several leading Protestants and Quakers in the city. Fr. Mathew joined the total abstinence movement in Cork in April 1838. The Cork Total Abstinence Society was established with the avowed aim of encouraging people to make one enduring act of which would keep them sober for life. This act of will was enshrined in the pledge to abstain from the taking of intoxicating liquor.

From the very beginning Fr. Mathew’s endeavours in the cause of temperance gained striking success. Under his leadership, teetotalism drew many adherents in Cork and spread throughout Munster and eventually throughout Ireland. The Society’s ranks quickly grew, and within three months, Fr. Mathew had enrolled 25,000 new members in Cork alone. In five months, the number had increased to 130,000. He travelled across Ireland, convincing thousands more to pledge teetotalism. In August 1842, he began traveling internationally, first to Scotland, then England. At its height, just before the outbreak of the famine in 1845, Fr. Mathew’s temperance movement had enrolled three million people, or more than half of the adult population of Ireland. By the mid-1840s he was frequently travelling to Britain with equally dramatic results. The leading nationalist politician, Daniel O’Connell (1775-1847), described the temperance movement as Fr. Mathew’s ‘mighty moral crusade’. In 1847, the priests of the diocese of Cork selected him to be their bishop. However, there was strong opposition from members of the hierarchy. It was held against him that he had accepted a pension from the Government. One long-standing critic among the bishops described him as ‘the hired tool of a heretical government’. This reflected the long-standing determination of the Catholic Church in Ireland not to accept state funding and the interference that would come in its train. Fr. Mathew’s financial mismanagement (he was known to be bountiful and generous to the point of extravagance), liberal Catholicism and Protestant associations also told against him. The Pope acceded to the almost unanimous advice of the Irish hierarchy that Fr. Mathew should not be appointed to the bishopric. Nevertheless, his standing as a popular figure remained undiminished. In July 1849, he visited the United States where he was greeted with enthusiastic acclaim. In Washington, the Congress unanimously admitted to him to a seat on the floor of the House; he was the first non-American after the Marquis de Lafayette to be so honoured. Rallies and demonstrations were held across the country to honour Ireland’s renowned ‘Apostle of Temperance’.

Despite this personal adulation, it was clear that Fr. Mathew’s movement had reached its zenith. From the late 1840s the movement began to decline almost dramatically as it had risen. His health started to fail (he had suffered a stroke in 1848) and crippling debts began to accumulate, making it increasingly difficult to continue the temperance crusade. The onset of the famine, brought about by the failure of the potato crop in 1845, dealt a grievous blow to the movement; thousands of Fr. Mathew’s followers died or emigrated in those years. Many of those who remained in Ireland had to contend with more pressing concerns than the maintenance of their pledge to abstain from alcohol. In late 1853, despite declining health, Fr. Mathew ventured to Limerick where he administered the pledge in what was his last appearance at a public meeting. In October 1854, on medical advice, he travelled to Madeira, but his health continued to deteriorate. In the absence of its charismatic leader the temperance movement continued to weaken. He suffered a severe stroke in late 1856 and died in Queenstown, County Cork, on 8 December 1856. He was 66 years old. He was buried in St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Cork, which he had established twenty-six years earlier.

Charles McCafferty was born in Derry city on 24 May 1888. He joined the Capuchin Franciscan Order (taking Bonaventure as his religious name) in Kilkenny in April 1912. He was solemnly professed as a Capuchin friar in September 1918. For the next thirty-six years he resided at the Seraphic College in Rochestown in County Cork. His primary responsibility was the management of the kitchen serving both the staff and students in the college. His time in Rochestown is notable for the assistance he gave to Captain Robert Monteith (1879-1956), the soldier and Irish nationalist, who had accompanied Roger Casement in his ill-fated attempt to land at Banna Strand in County Kerry in April 1916. Montieth was nursed through malaria by Br. Bonaventure and other Capuchin friars at Rochestown, before travelling back to his family in New York in December 1916, working in disguise as a fireman and coal trimmer on a merchant vessel. An account of this episode reads as follows:

‘Monteith was nursed by a Derryman, Br. Bonaventure [McCafferty OFM Cap.], who filled the role of both cook and guest-master. In both capacities Br. Bonaventure was excellent; blessed with a true Franciscan spirit of fraternity he was kindly, caring, and jovial. Under his care, Captain Monteith regained strength and when he was well enough to go out in the grounds, he was schooled in the basics of Capuchin behaviour – in so far as externals were concerned at any rate – because there was always the fear of a sudden raid by the British army. Dressed in a Capuchin habit, wearing a beard, and correctly holding a breviary he could hardly be distinguished from the ordinary religious. In case of suspicion, care was taken to include him on the ordinary list of the community. When completely fit and well he left Rochestown and enlisted under a false name as a fireman on the liner, ‘Adriatic’, bound for America. When the ship docked in New York he “jumped off” and made his way home to his family on Third Avenue, 116 Street, just before Christmas 1916’.

In 1949 Br. Bonaventure was assigned to the Church Street Friary in Dublin. He was plagued with ill-health in his later years and died in the friary on 5 September 1962. He was buried in the Capuchin plot in Glasnevin Cemetery.

Baptismal name: Charles McCafferty
Religious name: Br. Bonaventure McCafferty OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 24 May 1888
Place of birth: 157 Lecky Road, Derry
Name of father: Charles McCafferty (Grocer)
Name of mother: Catherine McCafferty (née Griffin)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 16 Apr. 1912
Date of first profession: 1 May 1913
Date of final profession: 8 Sept. 1918
Date of death: 5 Sept. 1962
Place of death: Church Street Friary, Dublin
Place of burial: Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin

Robert McCann was born in Belfast on 2 July 1906. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans in October 1925. He made his solemn profession in 1929 and was immediately afterwards sent to Rome to study theology. He was ordained in the Italian capital in June 1932 and secured a Licentiate of Sacred Theology (STL) the following year. On his return to Ireland, he began teaching theology at Ard Mhuire Friary in County Donegal. He held various positions in the following years: two years as director of students in St. Bonaventure’s in Cork during which he time he obtained a Master of Arts degree; one year as mission secretary; eight years as a missionary friar in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia); nine years as master of novices in Rochestown Friary in County Cork. He was a member of the community in St. Bonaventure’s for twenty-four years most of which time was spent giving lectures in philosophy to novices. He also served as a Provincial Definitor (Councillor) for a total of nine years. At the time of his death (6 March 1991), he was a member of the Church Street community in Dublin. He was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery.

Baptismal name: Robert McCann
Religious name: Fr. Cuthbert McCann OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 2 July 1906
Place of birth: Belfast
Name of father: John Patrick McCann (Cabinet Maker)
Name of mother: Mary Jane McCann (née Riddel)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 4 Oct. 1925
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1926
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1929
Date of ordination (as priest): 17 July 1932 (Rome)
Education details: BA, 1st class hons. (NUI), 1929; Licentiate of Sacred Theology (Rome), 1933; Higher Diploma in Education (UCC), 1935; MA (UCC), 1936.
Missionary activity: Travelled to Barotseland, Northern Rhodesia (later Zambia), in October 1938. Returned to Ireland in 1946. He was elected 2nd Discreet of the Northern Rhodesian mission in March 1946 but was recalled to Ireland to take charge of the cleric novitiate in December of that year.
Leadership positions: Provincial Definitor (Councillor): 1949-51, 1958-61, 1967-70; Custos General: 1952-5, 1961-4.
Date of death: 6 Mar. 1991
Place of death: Blanchardstown, Dublin
Place of burial: Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin

Joseph McCann was born in Belfast on 2 February 1910. After a period of schooling in his native city he entered the Seraphic College in Rochestown in County Cork to prepare for his entry into the Capuchin Order. He was preceded by his elder brother, Robert McCann, who had joined the Capuchins in 1925. His brother took Cuthbert as his religious name and was later a missionary in Africa before returning to Ireland in 1946. Having completed a course in humanities, Joseph McCann entered the Capuchin novitiate in Kilkenny in 1929. He took Gerald as his religious name upon joining the Order. For the following three years he was a member of the community at St. Bonaventure’s Hostel and studied philosophy in University College Cork. In 1933 he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree. He subsequently studied theology in Ard Mhuire Friary in County Donegal and was ordained a priest by the Most Reverend William McNeely, Bishop of Raphoe, in Letterkenny on 27 June 1937. Soon after his ordination he was transferred to Dublin and was appointed assistant editor in the Irish Capuchin publications office. Here he found scope for his considerable literary and artistic talents. His greatly admired and often amusing illustrations of Franciscan life were a noteworthy feature of ‘The Capuchin Annual’. He also contributed many literary and scholarly articles to both the ‘Annual’ and its sister publication ‘The Father Mathew Record’. Afflicted by ill-health from an early age, he was subsequently forced to relinquish his work in Dublin and was transferred to Rochestown Friary in County Cork. In August 1958 he travelled to Dublin to preach a novena, but he took ill and was admitted to the Bon Secours Hospital in Glasnevin. He died in the hospital on 16 August 1958 and was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin.

Baptismal name: Joseph McCann
Religious name: Fr. Gerald McCann OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 2 February 1910
Place of birth: North Queen Street, Belfast, County Antrim (Diocese of Down and Connor)
Name of father: John McCann (Cabinet Maker)
Name of mother: Mary Jane McCann (née Riddel)
Date of parents’ marriage: 10 July 1899
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 3 Oct. 1929
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1930
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1933
Date of ordination (as priest): 27 June 1937
Educational attainments: BA (1933)
Date of death: 16 Aug. 1958
Place of death: Bon Secours Hospital, Dublin
Place of burial: Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin

Baptismal name: Francis McConvery
Religious name: Fr. Frederick McConvery OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 11 Jan. 1925
Place of birth: Belfast (Diocese of Down and Connor)
Name of father: Thomas McConvery
Name of mother: Ellen McConvery (née Leonard)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 23 Oct. 1945
Date of first profession: 24 Oct. 1946
Date of final profession: 24 Oct. 1949
Date of ordination: 24 May 1953
Missionary activities: Travelled to Livingstone, Northern Rhodesia (later Zambia), on 26 Aug. 1953
Date of death: 28 Nov. 1968
Place of death: Hermanus, South Africa (*suffered a heart attack whilst swimming off the coast at Hermanus)
Place of burial: Maitland Cemetery, Cape Town, South Africa

Baptismal name: Thomas McDonagh
Religious name: Fr. Hilary McDonagh OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 5 June 1900
Place of birth: Graiguecullen, County Carlow (Diocese of Kildare & Leighlin)
Name of father: Michael McDonagh (Royal Irish Constabulary Policeman)
Name of mother: Mary McDonagh (née Keating)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 20 Sept. 1918
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1919
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1922
Date of ordination (as priest): 29 July 1928 (Rome)
Educational attainments: BA (1922); MA, 1st class honours (1923); Studentship (1924); PhD, Catholic University of Louvain (1926); Higher Diploma in Education (1935)
Leadership positions: Vice-Secretary Capuchin Procurator’s Office, Rome, 1932-4; Provincial Definitor (Councillor), 1949-51, 1952-5, 1955-8, 1958-61, 1961-4; Master of Cleric Novices; Custos General, 1964-7.
Date of death: 7 May 1967
Place of death: Church Street, Dublin
Place of burial: Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin

Francis McDonnell was born in the town of Carrigaline in County Cork in 1872. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans in September 1889 and took Mark as his religious name. He was ordained to the priesthood on 2 July 1896. Shortly after his ordination, he took charge of the Catholic Boys’ Brigade on Church Street in Dublin. Following the Provincial Chapter of 1904, he was appointed guardian (local superior) of the Capuchin community in Kilkenny. He subsequently returned to Dublin and served as guardian of the Church Street Friary from 1919 to 1922. He was twice elected Provincial Definitor (councillor), from 1922-5 and from 1925-8. He was an active member of the Capuchin missionary staff and was well known as a preacher and retreat giver throughout the country. He died in Dublin on 12 June 1947 and was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery.

Baptismal name: Francis McDonnell
Religious name: Fr. Mark McDonnell OFM Cap.
Date of birth: c.31 Mar. 1872
Place of birth: Carrigaline, County Cork
Name of father: John McDonnell
Name of mother: Margaret McDonnell (née Riordan)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 8 Sept. 1889
Date of first profession: 1 Jan. 1891
Date of final profession: 9 June 1895
Date of ordination (as priest): 2 July 1896
Leadership positions: Provincial Definitor (Councillor), 1922-5, 1925-8
Date of death: 12 June 1947
Place of death: Jervis Street Nursing Home, Dublin
Place of burial: Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin

Daniel McFadden was born in Belfast on 4 March 1901. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans in September 1918 and took Declan as his religious name. Following his theological studies, he was ordained to the priesthood in June 1927 and spent his first years in ministry in Holy Trinity Church in Cork. He was among the first friars to volunteer for the Irish Capuchin mission in Cape Town, South Africa (1929), and two years later (October 1931) in the newly established mission territory in Livingstone and Barotseland in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). He arrived in Barotseland in 1931 and immediately began to journey (on foot) to remote areas around Sesheke and further afield in Mongu in the western part of the country. Illness brought on by exposure to tropical diseases forced him to return to Ireland in April 1933. He once again volunteered for missionary work in 1948 and he made his way to the Archdiocese of Delhi-Simla in India. The Irish Capuchin friar, Fr. Sylvester Mulligan OFM Cap., had been appointed archbishop of this diocese in 1937. Fr. Declan remained in India for eleven years (1937-48). Following his return to Ireland, he was assigned to the Rochestown community in County Cork. Aside from a brief, three-year stint in Kilkenny, he remained in Rochestown for the rest of his life. His ministry included acting as spiritual director for the local Third Order of St. Francis confraternity, organising the church choir, and regular pastoral, preaching, confession, and mission duties. He died on 30 November 1979 and was buried in the cemetery attached to Rochestown Friary.

Baptismal name: Daniel McFadden
Religious name: Fr. Declan McFadden OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 4 Mar. 1901
Place of birth: Limestone Road, Belfast (Diocese of Down and Connor)
Name of father: Daniel McFadden
Name of mother: Mary Ann McFadden (née Burrell)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 29 Sept. 1918
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1919
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1922
Date of ordination (as priest): 29 June 1927
Academic attainments: BA (1923)
Mission activities: Travelled to Cape Town, South Africa, and later Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), in 1929. He returned to Ireland from Africa in 1933. He travelled to India in 1937. He returned to Ireland in 1948.
Date of Death: 30 Nov. 1979
Place of death: Cork
Place of burial: Cemetery, Rochestown Capuchin Friary, County Cork

Baptismal name: Alphonsus McGarry
Religious name: Fr. Columban McGarry OFM Cap.
Place of birth: Rasharkin, County Antrim (Diocese of Down & Connor)
Date of birth: 20 April 1901
Name of father: Patrick McGarry
Name of mother: M.A. Cleland
Date of reception into Capuchin Order: 18 September 1921
Date of first profession: 15 October 1922
Date of final profession: 22 December 1925
Date of ordination (Rome): 29 July 1928
Education: BA (1st class honours): 1925; Doctorate in Divinity, 1929 (Rome); Licentiate of Sacred Scripture, 1931 (Rome).
Ministries: Spiritual Director of the Pontifical Ethiopian College at the Vatican from 1966-70; Guardian of St. Fidelis Hospice, Rome, from 1970-5; returned to Ireland in 1975 and was appointed to the Church Street community in Dublin.
Date of death: 24 December 1987
Place of death: Fahan Nursing Home, County Donegal
Place of burial: Cemetery, Ard Mhuire Capuchin Friary, County Donegal