O’Callagahan’s Mills, County Clare, 1945 A view of the village of O’Callaghan’s Mills in County Clare in about 1945. The village takes its name from the O’Callaghan family who were large landowners in the area and a corn and grist mill built by John Coonan on the lands of Cornelius O’Callaghan in 1772. The print forms part of a bound volume containing a collection of ‘views of Irish life’ intended for publication in ‘The Capuchin Annual’.

Aodh MacAingil A page from a beautifully transcribed nineteenth-century copy of Aodh MacAingil’s ‘Scáthán Shacramainte na hAithridhe’ or ‘The Mirror of the Sacrament of Penance’ printed at the Irish press in the college of St. Anthony’s, Louvain, in 1618. Aodh Mac Cathmhaoil OFM (Anglicized: Hugh MacCaghwell, 1571-22 Sept. 1626) was an Irish Franciscan theologian and Archbishop of Armagh. He was known by Irish speakers at Louvain by the honorary name Aodh MacAingil (‘Mac Aingil’ is Irish for ‘Son of an Angel’). MacAingil had previously served in the court of Hugh O’Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone, as a tutor to his sons Henry and Hugh. He was a leading Gaelic scholar and theologian and is credited with saving many of the old Irish manuscripts now in existence. No indication is given in the text as to the author of this transcribed copy. The manuscript was formerly part of the library collection of St. Bonaventure’s Friary, a Capuchin house which was used as a residence for friars attending University College Cork. St. Bonaventure’s (located near Victoria Cross in Cork city) closed in 1988.

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Artwork on O’Connell Bridge, Dublin, 1940 An image of an artwork seller on O’Connell Bridge, Dublin, in about 1940. The print forms part of a bound volume containing a collection of ‘views of Irish life’ intended for publication in ‘The Capuchin Annual’.

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Capuchins in China, 1929 A view of four American Capuchin missionaries in Gansu Province in China in May 1929. They are seated (on left) Fr. Agatho Rolf OFM Cap. and Fr. Gabriel McCarthy OFM Cap. and standing (left) Fr. Rudolf Blockinger OFM Cap. and Fr. Sylvester Staudt OFM Cap. These were the first American Capuchins to undertake a foreign mission arriving in China in 1922. The photograph was the last to be taken of the four missionaries together. Fr. Gabriel died of typhoid later in 1929 with Fr. Agatho succumbing to the same disease in 1931. Fr. Sylvester was transferred to a Capuchin mission in Puerto Rico in 1930. Fr. Rudolf remained a missionary in China for thirty years, working primarily in Tianshui. He was arrested by the Chinese Communist government in 1949 and was held for three years as a prisoner on charges of being an American spy. Though he was eventually found not guilty, he was expelled from China in May 1952. He was the last Capuchin missionary to be expelled from the country, enduring a nineteen-day trek to the British colony of Hong Kong. He eventually settled in Australia and continued to work as a missionary there until his death in Brisbane in 1969.

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Student hurlers in Rochestown, County Cork, c.1914 An image of students playing hurling at Rochestown Capuchin College, County Cork, in c.1914. A former rector of Rochestown College, Fr. Edwin Fitzgibbon OFM Cap., lent his name to a trophy (‘the Fitzgibbon Cup’) which remains the preeminent inter-colleges hurling competition.

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Ballsbridge, Dublin, 1925 An aerial view of Ballsbridge, Dublin, in 1925. Prominent in the image is the Royal Dublin Society (RDS) arena. The arena was developed to host equestrian events, primarily the annual Dublin Horse Show, which was first held there in 1881. The site had been acquired by the RDS in 1879. The print forms part of a bound volume containing a collection of ‘views of Irish life’ intended for publication in ‘The Capuchin Annual’.

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Cork International Exhibition, 1902 The Official Guide to the Cork International Exhibition which was held in the Mardyke area of Cork in 1902. Proposed by Edward Fitzgerald, Lord Mayor of Cork, the exhibition and fair showcased many facets of the industrial revival in Ireland. The exhibition also included a pavilion devoted to the life and work of Fr. Theobald Mathew OFM Cap., a Capuchin friar and noted temperance campaigner. The full guide can be viewed at the Cork Past and Present resource at: http://www.corkpastandpresent.ie/history/corktradeexhibitions/uploadexhibition/croppedpdfs/1902_guide.pdf

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Bathing at Ballintoy, County Antrim, 1950 As the heatwave continues in Ireland, this view of bathers at Ballintoy in County Antrim in about 1950 seems appropriate. Ballintoy harbour is located at the most northern part of the coast of County Antrim. Ballintoy village is noteworthy as it has been used as a filming location in HBO’s fantasy series ‘Game of Thrones’. The print forms part of a bound volume containing a collection of ‘views of Irish life’ intended for publication in ‘The Capuchin Annual’.

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Dublin Port, 1937 An aerial view of Dublin Port in September 1937 from the photographic collection of ‘The Capuchin Annual’. For most of the twentieth century, the Port was the biggest employer in Dublin, providing much-needed work through its ships, quays and warehouses. On the river itself, cargo ships, livestock boats, lighters and barges journeyed up and down the Liffey. Perhaps the most famous vessels were the Guinness ships that moored in front of the Custom House. More information on the history of Dublin Port can be found through the Dublin Dock Workers Preservation Society. See https://www.facebook.com/Dublindockers/

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Croke Park, Dublin An aerial view of Croke Park (Páirc an Chrócaigh), Dublin, in September 1938. Named in honour of Archbishop Thomas Croke, it serves both as the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). The image shows (on the right) the newly-completed Cusack Stand which was officially opened in time for the All-Ireland football semi-final between Kerry and Laois on 21 August 1938. This two-tier stand was the largest of its kind in Europe at the time. The print forms part of a bound volume containing a collection of ‘views of Irish life’ intended for publication in ‘The Capuchin Annual'.

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Bloomsday Today (16 June) is Bloomsday. It celebrates Thursday, 16 June 1904, which is the day depicted in James Joyce’s novel ‘Ulysses’. The day is named after Leopold Bloom, the central character in Ulysses. In Joyce’s autobiographical, ‘A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man’, it is noted that Stephen Dedalus (Joyce’s alter-ego) visits the Church of the Capuchins (St Mary of the Angels) on Church Street, Dublin, where he encounters an old Capuchin friar in his distinctive brown habit and hood. ‘A tall figure came down the aisle … glancing up swiftly, he saw a long grey beard and brown habit of a Capuchin. ‘Capuchin’ comes from cappuccio or ‘hooded ones’, an old Italian expression for a hermit. The photograph shows Joyce in 1915 and Fr. Fidelis Neary OFM Cap. (d. 1932) in his distinctive Capuchin habit.

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Wexford Quay, 1940 A view of Wexford Quay in about 1940. In the eighteenth century, Wexford was a busy port exporting goods such as beef, butter and corn. In the 1860s a railway line was constructed along the waterfront. A woodenwork quay-front was built to facilitate the loading and unloading of ships. By the mid-twentieth century it became unprofitable to keep dredging a channel from the harbour mouth to the quays to accommodate larger ships, so the port closed. The woodenworks which fronted the quays and which were synonymous with Wexford were removed in the 1990s as part of a plan to claim the quay as an amenity for the town as well as retaining it as a commercially viable waterfront. The print forms part of a bound volume containing a collection of ‘views of Irish life’ intended for publication in ‘The Capuchin Annual'.