1 Irish Capuchin Archives Descriptive List Papers relating to the Church of St. Mary of the Angels, Capuchin Friary, Church Street, Dublin Collection Code: IE/CA/CS A collection of records relating to the Capuchin Franciscan community in Dublin and in particular to the foundation known as the Church of St. Mary of the Angels, Church Street Compiled by Provincial Archivist August 2018 No portion of this descriptive list may be reproduced without the written consent of the Provincial Archivist, Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, Ireland, Capuchin Friary, Church Street, Dublin 7. 2 Table of Contents Identity Statement .................................................................................................................................. 4 Context .................................................................................................................................................... 4 History ................................................................................................................................................. 4 Archival History ................................................................................................................................... 6 Content and Structure ............................................................................................................................ 6 Scope and content .............................................................................................................................. 6 System of arrangement ...................................................................................................................... 6 Postnominal Abbreviation .................................................................................................................. 7 Access and Descriptive Control ............................................................................................................... 7 Illustrations ............................................................................................................................................. 8 1. The Community ................................................................................................................................... 9 1.1. Mass Books .................................................................................................................................. 9 1.1.1. Mass Register Books ............................................................................................................. 9 1.1.2. Mass Ledger Books.............................................................................................................. 22 1.1.3. Church Notice Books ........................................................................................................... 23 1.2. Community Lists and Appointments .......................................................................................... 26 1.3. Community Meetings and Elections .......................................................................................... 27 2. Property and Lands ........................................................................................................................... 30 2.2. Title Deeds and Leases ............................................................................................................... 30 2.2.1. Church of St. Mary of the Angels ........................................................................................ 30 2.2.2. 142 Church Street ............................................................................................................... 37 2.2.3. 138-140 Church Street ........................................................................................................ 41 2.2.4. 47-50 North King Street ...................................................................................................... 45 2.2.5. 133-134 Church Street and 27 Bow Street ......................................................................... 54 2.2.6. 141 Church Street and 1-3 Thunder’s Court ....................................................................... 58 2.2.7. Bow Street Properties ......................................................................................................... 61 2.2.8. Carter’s Lane Properties...................................................................................................... 66 2.2.9. North Brunswick Street ....................................................................................................... 68 2.2.10. Other Places (Dublin) ........................................................................................................ 69 2.3. Construction of St. Mary of the Angels ...................................................................................... 70 2.4. Rentals and Schedules ............................................................................................................... 75 2.5. Maps, Plans and Drawings ......................................................................................................... 79 2.6. Building Repairs and Maintenance ............................................................................................ 86 2.6.1. Correspondence .................................................................................................................. 86 2.6.2. Tenders and Bill of Costs ..................................................................................................... 89 2.6.3. Church and Friary Renovation (1970-1975) ........................................................................ 91 3 2.6.4. Construction of New Friary Building (1999-2002) .............................................................. 93 3. House Finances ................................................................................................................................. 95 3.1. Community Books of Account .................................................................................................... 95 3.2. Bank Accounts .......................................................................................................................... 107 3.3. Quest Collection Books ............................................................................................................ 108 3.4. Income Tax and Municipal Rates ............................................................................................. 110 3.5. Ground Rents ........................................................................................................................... 111 3.6. Insurance .................................................................................................................................. 114 3.7. Receipts and Vouchers ............................................................................................................. 115 4. Sodalities and Confraternities ......................................................................................................... 117 5. Relationships with Local Communities ........................................................................................... 126 5.1. Church Street Catholic Boys’ Brigade ...................................................................................... 126 5.2. The Church Street Tenement Disaster (1913) ......................................................................... 135 5.3. Housing Improvements ............................................................................................................ 138 6. Newspaper Clippings ....................................................................................................................... 140 7. Photographs .................................................................................................................................... 142 8. Commemorative Material ............................................................................................................... 149 4 Identity Statement Reference Code IE/CA/CS Title Papers of St. Mary of the Angels, Capuchin Friary, Church Street, Dublin Creation Dates 1685-2014; predominately 1850-1980 Creator(s) Irish Capuchins Level of Description Fonds Extent 18 boxes, comprising 307 files and 133 items Context History Church Street, one of the oldest thoroughfares on the north side of Dublin, has long been identified with the Capuchin Franciscans. For many years the friars have been known as the ‘Church Street Fathers’. Yet Church Street was not the location of their first residence in Dublin. The first Capuchin friars arrived in Dublin in 1615. At first, they settled on the south side of the city near Thomas Street before moving to Bridge Street in about 1632 and later still to a house not far from Saint Audeon’s Arch. In his remarks on the progress of the Irish Capuchin mission, Fr. Christopher Kearney OSFC (d. 1656) explained how ‘in the beginning, from the year 1615 to 1624, when they were very few, the friars lived in ones and twos in the houses of other people, not as a regular community; but then as numbers increased they established communities … in buildings either newly erected, or rented, and adapted for religious use and as chapels in which they maintained regular observance until the year 1651’. Fr. Edward Bath OSFC (d. 1634) was appointed the first superior of the first Capuchin house in Dublin. Fr. Robert O’Connell OSFC (c.1623-1678) in his Historia Missionis Hiberniae Fratrum Minorum Capucinorum (c.1654) described the first residence