Irish Capuchin Archives

Irish Capuchin Archives

• Archives of the Irish Province of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin

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Collection Overview:

The archives contain the records of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin in Ireland from 1615 to circa 1980, with the bulk of the papers relating to individual Capuchin Franciscans, Capuchin administration in the Irish Province, sermon and retreat notes, and records relating to various lay sodalities and confraternities. The entire collection is currently being processed. The collection is divided into two general sections – historical (from 1615 to 1885) and contemporary (from the re-establishment of the Irish Capuchin Province in 1885).

Principal Collections:

• Records relating to Capuchin houses in the dioceses of Dublin, Cork, Ossory and Raphoe and to overseas missions undertaken by Irish Capuchins in New Zealand (Wellington and Auckland), Australia (New South Wales), South Korea, and in the United States (thirteen houses in California and one house in Oregon), and in Africa (fourteen houses in Zambia and one house in South Africa).
• Correspondence between the Minister General of the Order, Congregations of the Roman Curia, the Holy See and the Irish Capuchin Province.
• Provincial and General Chapter meetings.
• Novitiate registers and papers.
• Material on studies and formation.
• Records of lay sodalities, confraternities and total abstinence associations.
• Personal papers and polemical writings of Fr. Arthur O’Leary OFM Cap. (1729-1802) and Fr. Theobald Mathew OFM Cap. (1790-1856).
• Correspondence and papers of Fr. Albert Bibby OFM Cap., Fr. Aloysius Travers OFM Cap., Fr. Augustine Hayden OFM Cap., and other Capuchin friars involved in ministering to insurgent leaders following the Easter Rising. This collection includes contemporary republican pamphlets, newspapers, handbills, photographs, correspondence and other documents relating to the War of Independence and the Civil War.
• Rare books (including incunabula) written by Capuchins or of interest to the Order, reference works, books by members of the Irish Province and publications by the Order in Ireland (including full series of ‘The Father Mathew Record’ and ‘The Capuchin Annual’).
• Works of art (including original paintings by Seán O’Sullivan and Richard King).
• Artefacts (including a large collection of printing blocks, framed historical banners and chalices).
• Maps and plans of properties held by the Capuchin Order in Ireland from the seventeenth century onward.
• Photographic collections (loose, mounted and in albums).

Descriptive catalogues and finding aids for collections held in the Irish Capuchin Archives can be accessed at: http://www.capuchinfranciscans.ie/about/archives-and-heritage/descriptive-catalogues-of-archival-material/

Digitized copies of the entire run of 'The Capuchin Annual' (1930-77) can be accessed at: http://www.capuchinfranciscans.ie/capuchin-annual-1930-1977/

10.00-13.00, 14.00-17.00, Mon.-Fri., by advance appointment only.
Further details: capuchinarchives@gmail.com

No material may be reproduced without the written permission of the Provincial Archivist. Copyright restrictions apply. Digital photography is at the discretion of the Provincial Archivist. Reproduction and licensing rules available on request.