Photograph of Presented by ‘The Aughrim Groups’, Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin by C. and L. Walsh, 55 Lr. Mount Street, Dublin.

A. G. S. Group - Retreatants at Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin. With Fr Patrick Barrett SJ, Director of Retreats - by Keogh Brothers Ltd.

Account book of the Irish Jesuit Province. Includes insert for Tullabeg villa, August 1887.

Account book of the Irish Jesuit Province. Includes an alphabetical index.

Account book of the Irish Jesuit Province. Includes an alphabetical index.

A.G. & S. Racking and Traffic Department at Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin. J.C. O’ Toole, Fr Patrick Barrett SJ (Director of Retreats) and J.J Whelan.

Altar in the chapel at Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin - College Studios, 31 Westmoreland Street, Dublin.

A.O.H. (Ancient Order of Hibernians) Donnybrook, with Fr Patrick Barrett SJ, Director of Retreats, at Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin. College Studios.

Notice and prayer leaflet of the annual retreat for the members of the Dublin Metropolitan Police Force held in the Church of St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin.

Copy of article by Fr Matthew Meade SJ, on 'Rathfarnham Retreat’ in Interfuse No. 8, March/April 1980.

Attendance register for sodality for St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street. Entries are arranged under headings by hours, day of the week and remarks, which include 'Sick', 'On vacation', 'Signed'.

Attendance register for St Berchmans Sodality at St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street. Entries are arranged under headings by day of the week and remarks, which include 'Sick', 'On vacation'.

Boland's Bakery Retreat at Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin. Includes P. Roe, Br John Loftus SJ, Fr Foley, J. Denny (Promoter) and Fr Ward (Director of Retreats).

Booklet entitled ‘Retreat Notes (Clergy, Teachers, Sodalists)’. The booklet is a reference guide for retreat givers (Jesuit).

Booklets relating to the Sodality of Our Lady concerning rules, meditations, prayers, explanations and history of the Sodality. Includes 'Meditations for Sodalists', 'Rules of the Sodality of Our Lady', 'Prayers for the Dying', 'How to Establish a Sodality', 'His Mother's Beads', 'No surer way to heaven', 'What is the sodality of Our Lady?', 'The Message', 'Guide to the Sodality of Our Lady', 'The Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Ireland: A short history' by Fr John MacErlean SJ, 'Sodality of Our Lady of Lourdes and St Joseph: For Invalids', 'Sodality of Our Lady of Lourdes and St Joseph: For Invalids, Daily duties', 'Magnificat Bulletin of the Sodality for the Sick' and 'Favours lost by a person who deliberately neglects to receive one holy communion'.

'Boys Retreat Register' at Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin containing the names and addresses of those attending retreats and the date attended.

Calendar for St Francis Xavier's Church, Upper Gardiner Street; pamphlets containing hymns and prayers; invitation to the centenary celebrations of the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin and St Patrick in the Ignatian Chapel.

Calendar for the annual retreat for the officers and men of an Garda Síochána, Church of St Francis Xavier, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin.

Calendar of the Young Men's Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin.

Catholic Young Men's Society with Fr Patrick Barrett SJ at Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin - College Studios.

Lined notebook entitled ‘Church decoration Organ Improved’. Details work on organ choir services, stations, novenas, old and new organ, advent calendar, retreats and souvenir of retreats and the new organist. With index at the front and hand-drawn plan of reconstruction of organ (30 September 1926) and schedule of works to be completed by Telford & Telford, Organ Builders, 33 Charlemont Street, Dublin for the ‘cleaning and overhauling of organ in Ignatian Chapel, St Francis Xavier’s, Gardiner Street, Dublin (11 July 1944).

C.I.E. Employees’ Week-end Retreat, Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin. Road Passenger Section. Includes Frs Michael Sweetman, John McDonald, Joseph Erraught (Director of Retreats), Br John Adams - Independent News.

Commemorative prayer card for the silver jubilee of the sodality of Our Lady of Christians, St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin.

Letter from Fr Ladislaus Zabdyr SJ, Chikuni, PO Chisekesi, Northern Rhodesia to Irish Fr Provincial John R MacMahon SJ, St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin thanking him for sending two Irish Jesuits to the mission. Asks if more men can be spared for work in the mission. Includes a copy of a reply remarking that more men cannot be spared.

Correspondence between Fr Leonard Sheil SJ and Irish Fr Provincial Laurence Kieran SJ concerning the relationship between the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Legion of Mary.

A file of letters written during the year 1950 relating to the Chikuni Mission, Northern Rhodesia. Includes numerous letters relating to the announcement that eight Irish Jesuits are to be sent to the Chikuni Mission and the need for these men to learn the language (Chitonga). Many letters express concern over the lack of preparations being made for their arrival and a reluctance to comply with Fr General's instructions that all eight men are to be housed together for one year to obtain a firm grasp of the language.

• Includes a letter from the Apostolic Delegation, PO Box 468, Mombasa to Irish Fr Provincial Thomas Byrne SJ concerning the division of the mission between the Irish and Polish Jesuits. Advises Fr Byrne to send a suitable Jesuit to Northern Rhodesia to take on the role of Vicar Apostolic of Lusaka when the division takes place (12 June 1950, 1p).
• Includes a memorandum by Fr John Collins SJ concerning Bantu courses in London University (nd, 2pp).
• Includes a photograph published in the Irish Independent of the nine Irish Jesuits (eight priests and one brother) before their departure for Chikuni, Northern Rhodesia (19 July 1950, 1p).
• Includes a letter from Fr Brian MacMahon SJ to Fr Provincial Thomas Byrne SJ announcing their safe arrival in Lusaka (7 August 1950, 2pp).
• Includes a letter from Fr Patrick J Walsh SJ describing a trip he and Fr Louis Meagher SJ made in the Zambesi Valley (22 September 1950, 2pp).
• Includes a letter from Fr Brian McMahon SJ, Chikuni Mission PO Chisekesi, Northern Rhodesia to Fr Provincial Thomas Byrne SJ describing the school system here and the training colleges for African teachers (2 October 1950, 7pp).

A file of letters written during the year 1951 relating to the Chikuni Mission, Northern Rhodesia.

• Includes a report on the Lusaka Mission and Fr Visitor's suggestion that the Irish Fathers take over a part of this mission from the Polish Province (nd, 1p).
• Includes a letter from Fr Patrick J Walsh, SJ, Chikuni Mission, PO Chisekesi Siding, Northern Rhodesia to Irish Fr Provincial Thomas Byrne SJ, concerning the starting up of new mission stations. Refers to the division of the Vicariate and remarks '…the Polish Fathers are inclined to be resentful of us….I know there is a great effort being made to ensure that…we shall not get Lusaka.' (30 January 1951, 2pp).
• Includes a memorandum concerning the establishment of a Junior Trade School ([February] 1951, 2pp).
• Includes a letter from Rev. A Chichester SJ, Vicariate Apostolic of Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia, Campion House, Rhodes Avenue, Salisbury, Southrrn Rhodesia to Irish Fr Provincial enquiring if the Irish Province has plans to open a school for European boys in Northern Rhodesia. A note on the letter remarks 'Nothing doing: will ask Xtian Brothers if he wishes.' (6 October 1951, 2pp).
• Includes a letter from Adam Kozlowiecki SJ (Apostolic Administrator), Vicariate Apostolic of Lusaka, PO Box 125 to Irish Fr Provincial stating the urgent need for a school for Catholic European boys in Northern Rhodesia. Includes a rough plan of a suitable site (16 November 1951, 3pp).
• Includes a letter from David Mathew, Apostolic Delegate, PO Box 468, Mombasa to Irish Fr Provincial referring to the division of the Vicariate between the Irish and Polish Jesuits (24 November 1951, 3pp).

A file of letters written during the year 1952 relating to the Chikuni Mission, Northern Rhodesia.

• Includes a letter from David Matthews, Archbishop of Apamea, Apostolic delegate, Delegatio Apostolica, PO Box 468 Mombasa to Irish Fr Provincial Thomas Byrne SJ concerning the proposed boundaries of the Vicariate of Lusaka to be given to the Irish Province. Includes a free hand map of the area (9 January 1952, 3pp).
• Includes a letter from Fr Patrick J. Walsh SJ, PO Box 125, Lusaka, Northern Rhodesia to Irish Fr Provincial informing him that the building of the residence at the regiment Church has begun. Refers to Mau Mau in Kenya and remarks 'It is likely that in the next few years we shall see similar developments in central Africa. There is a great spirit of unrest and dissatisfaction among the Africans here and there is quite a bit of Communist propaganda going on - especially through the African Congress' (29 November 1952, 1p).

A file of letters written during the year 1953 relating to the Chikuni Mission, Northern Rhodesia.

• Includes a letter from David Mathews, Archbishop of Apamea, Apostolic Delegate, PO Box 468, Mombasa to Irish Fr Provincial Thomas Byrne SJ concerning his meeting with Fr General regarding the nomination of the Vicar Apostolic of Lusaka. Remarks that Fr General is anxious that the new Bishop, when named, would open a preparatory school for European boys in Lusaka (20 February 1953, 1p).
• Includes a letter from Fr Patrick J. Walsh SJ, PO Box 125, Lusaka, Northern Rhodesia to Irish Fr Provincial informing him that the residence at the Regiment Church has been completed (6 March 1953, 2pp).
• Includes a statement of the Chikuni Mission statistics for the year ending 30 June 1953 (June 1953, 1p).
• Includes a copy of a letter from the Educational Secretary-General to the Northern Rhodesia Catholic Missions, PO Box 29, Lusaka, Northern Rhodesia to the [Archbishop] concerning the Catholic Teacher Training College proposal (5 September 1953, 3pp).
• Includes a document relating to a survey on leprosy in Northern Rhodesia made in 1950 (10 December 1953, 11pp).

A file of letters written during the year 1954 relating to the Chikuni Mission, Northern Rhodesia.

• Includes a letter from Fr Robert Thompson SJ, PO Box 125, Lusaka to Irish Fr Provincial Michael O'Grady SJ concerning an invitation from the Dept. of Social Welfare to Frs. Robert Thompson and Patrick J Walshe to participate in Council meetings in preparation for Territorial Social Welfare meetings (21 January 1954, 2pp).
• Includes a letter from Adam Kozlowiecki SJ, Apostolic Administrator, Vicariate Apostolic of Lusaka, PO Box 125 to Irish Fr Provincial thanking him for agreeing, in principle, to staff the Teacher Training College with members of the Irish Province (4 April 1954, 2pp).
• Includes a copy of a letter from [ ] Kabunda Mission, PO Fort Roseberry to the Right Reverend the Ordinaries of Northern Rhodesia concerning the siting of the proposed territorial Catholic Teacher Training College (6 June 1954, 2pp).
• Includes a letter from the Education Secretary-General to the North Rhodesia Catholic Missions, PO Box 593, Lusaka concerning the reorganisation of Teacher Training (18 June 1954, 4pp).
• Includes a memorandum by Irish Fr Provincial concerning the terms governing the choice of a site for the Teacher Training College (1 October 1954, 5pp).
• Includes Fr Robert Thompson SJ's impressions of participating in the Social Services Conference, Northern Rhodesia (19 October 1954, 2pp).
• Includes a memorandum by Fr Walter O'Connor SJ concerning the leprosy settlement near Chikuni (November 1954, 3pp).

A file of letters written during the year 1955 relating to the Chikuni Mission, Northern Rhodesia.

• Includes a letter from Fr Robert Thompson SJ, PO Box 125, Lusaka to Irish Fr Provincial Michael O'Grady SJ concerning the Teacher Training College. Remarks that the establishment of a new Training College was formally passed in principle and that a decision on the proposed site at Monze-Lubwe will be made shortly (5 January 1955, 2pp).
• Includes a newspaper cutting reporting on the appointment of Fr Adam Kozlowiecki SJ as Bishop-Elect of the Lusaka Vicariate (22 August 1955, 1p).
• Includes a copy of the minutes of a consultation held at Chikuni Mission. The first item relates to the partition of goods between the Vicariate Apostolic of Lusaka and the Society of Jesus (15 & 16 September 1955, 6pp).

A file of letters written during the year 1956 relating to the Chikuni Mission, Northern Rhodesia.

• Includes a memorandum concerning the Teacher Training College, namely the adaptation and expansion of Chikuni as the Training College and the building of a new secondary school near Lusaka ([ ] 1956, 1p).
• Includes a first draft for presenting the Inter Racial Catholic Institute to the public ([ ], 2pp).
• Includes a letter from the Commissioner of Taxes, PO Box 126, Causway, Southern Rhodesia to Coghlan Welsh and Guest, Solicitors acting on behalf of the Irish Jesuits, Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia concerning the change of status of Lusaka from Prefecture Apostolic to Vicariate Apostolic under the care of the Society of Jesus. Discusses the financial implications of this (March 1956, 2pp).
• Includes a letter from Fr M. Schurmans SJ, Visitor, Lusaka to Irish Fr Provincial Michael O'Grady SJ concerning the juridical division of the Lusaka Mission. Remarks 'I think the only alternative left would be that the Irish Province take over the whole mission from the Polish' (19 November 1956, 4pp).

A file of letters written during the year 1957 relating to the Chikuni Mission, Northern Rhodesia. This mission was set up as a separate mission from Lusaka (Polish) in 1 January 1957.

• Includes a letter from Fr Daniel Meagher SJ, Superior of the Mission, Loyola to Irish Fr Provincial Michael O'Grady SJ concerning a consultation of the mission with Fr Visitor where it was agreed to ask the Christian Brothers to take over the Teacher Training College. Remarks 'Our own Bishop is somewhat disappointed at the decision but has given his full approval to the asking of the Bros to come into his Vicariate for this work,' (7 February 1957, 2pp).
• Includes a letter from Fr Joseph McCarthy SJ, Chiuvna, Box 13, Monze to Irish Fr Provincial concerning the division of the mission. Remarks 'Our immediate need is to expand in the Southern Province…the Irish Province now has the responsibility for all this area…we are (also) informed that to get our own Vicariate we must have more stations…I think we should start this year at Namwala and Choma.' (7 February 1957, 2pp).
• Includes a letter from Fr J. Boyle SJ, British Province SJ, Garret House, 31 Camp Road, Wimbledon, London to Irish Fr Provincial informing him that the British Province is hoping to open a Novitiate in Rhodesia in February 1958 with the Irish Province supplying the Socius (29 December 1957, 1p).

A file of letters written during the year 1958 relating to the Chikuni Mission, Northern Rhodesia.

• Includes a memorandum on the Ecclesiastical Administration of the Chikuni Mission in the Vicariate of Lusaka, Northern Rhodesia by Fr Joseph McCarthy SJ (9 August 1958, 2pp).
• Includes the minutes of a missionary conference held in Lusaka (28 October 1958, 32pp).

Correspondence mainly between Irish Fr Provincial, Fr Leonard Sheil SJ and the English Provincial, relating to Fr Sheil’s Mission work in England. Includes:
– incomplete letter from Fr Sheil to the Provincial referring to a Mission he and Fr Robert L. Stevenson SJ are to give in Peterborough, ‘We will run one mission in a hostel, and another in the church at the same time. There are 180 Irish in the hostel; and there are believed to be about 400 in lodgings around the town. We may, or may not, be able to get at them.’ Also describes his recent travels on the Continent (third page of letter is missing) (12 Sep. 19--, 2pp);
– letter from Fr Sheil to the Provincial describing a ‘country mission in Northampton’ where he “was told to take a different village every day, say Mass in some Catholic house, visit every house – Catholic or no, and ‘hold a service’ on the village green in the evening” (2 September 19–, 7pp);
– covering letter and note (January 1953, 2pp) from Fr Sheil to the Provincial enclosing a memorandum entitled ‘Relations between Irish and English Jesuit Missioners’ (n.d., 3pp);
– covering letter from Fr Sheil (13 April 1953, 1p.) to the Provincial, enclosing a letter he received from the Archbishop of Cius and English Apostolic Delegate following Fr Sheil’s report to him of 1952 Mission work. The Archbishop writes ‘I have read with deepest interest the reports sent to me by the Reverend Father L. Sheil, S.J. and I have informed the Holy See of all the splendid work that has been accomplished. For this most necessary apostolate, certainly the Delegate of the Holy Father must send a cordial blessing in the name of His Holiness and he is confident that, with God’s help, more and more will be achieved for those who stand so much in need of the ministry of their own priests’ (9 April 1953, 1p.);
– copy letter from the Irish Fr Provincial Thomas Byrne to the English Fr Provincial Desmond Boyle SJ, regarding Fr Boyle’s ‘wishes concerning the activities of the Irish Mission staff in England’. States ‘I have…instructed Father Leonard Sheil to confine his activities in future to Camp Missions during the autumn months, and, once he has fulfilled his programme in London this autumn, to approach no parish priest about a parish Mission nor to accept any parish Mission without a specific request from Father Farrell.…I think he (Fr Sheil) has done good work for the Irish in England, some of which, such as the Confraternity in Birmingham, may be of permanent worth. But whatever good he has achieved is due in no small measure to the co-operation of the English Province and the support he received from the English parish clergy’ (22 Apr. 1953, 1p.);
– Fr Boyle’s reply thanking Fr Byrne for his co-operation and stating ‘I only hope that we of this Province have not seemed too difficult or dog-in-the-manger-ish. The position was getting rather confused and it seemed desirable to regularize it. Your mission Fathers have done wonderful work in England, and I am quite sure that Fr Sheil will be approached either directly or through Fr Farrell for further missions’ (29 Apr. 1953, 1p.);
– letter to Fr Sheil from Dr James Staunton, Bishop of Ferns in which he remarks ‘I was glad to know that you are going to St. Wilfrid’s York, and I hope your Fathers and yourself will be invited to give many missions in the secondary modern schools, and pioneer in this sphere’ (20 Aug. 1958, 2pp);
– letter to the Provincial from Fr Sheil describing the work of two Irish chaplains in London – Fr Cullen in Warwick Street and the chaplain in Bayswater (Sep. 1967, 2pp).
Also includes list drawn up by Fr Sheil of Jesuits who ‘should give a very good priests’ retreat’ (n.d., 2pp).

Correspondence with Dr John Charles McQuaid, Archbishop of Dublin (mostly holograph letters from the Archbishop and copies of Fr. Provincial’s replies) on various matters. Includes letters concerning:

• the purchase of additional land from Mr Bewley adjoining Milltown Park, on which to build a secondary school (See also 1940s correspondence with Archbishop McQuaid);
• the question of the payment of workers for work on parochial and ecclesiastical buildings on Holy Days of Obligation;
• the Statement issued on behalf of the Hierarchy with regard to ‘the raising of military forces and the waging of war’ (persuading ‘young men not to join the new I.R.A. and kindred groups, or if they have joined, to disassociate themselves from such groups’);
• the proposed acquisition of new buildings on Eglinton Road (now the Province Curia, No. 87 Eglinton Road) for the Society to ‘relieve a certain congestion we are experiencing at present in our Dublin Houses’;
• the appointment of Jesuits to various ecclesiastical offices;
• the Commission considering the question of Licensing Laws;
• Jesuit Missions to the Irish in Britain (see also ADMN/3/62);
• the Technical Schools – ‘It is not in any sense an exaggeration to say that the assistance of the Society has made possible the establishment of a firm system of Religious Instruction, for the first time, in the Vocational and Technical Schools’ (letter of Archbishop McQuaid to Fr Provincial, 8 June 1959, 1p.) (see also ADMN/3/61);
• the formation of a committee to select candidates for beatification among the Irish martyrs (see also ADMN/3/24; 43; 48 and 49);
• the publication of spiritual books in Irish by the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary attached to Gardiner Street Church (see also ADMN/3/59 and 65);
• the appointment of Jesuit lecturers in University College Dublin;
• the proposal to establish a federation of the Sodalities of Our Lady in the Dublin Diocese.
  Also includes covering letter and copy of the minutes of the General Meeting of the Irish Actors’ Equity Association held on 27 April 1958.

Crumlin - D.U.T. Clubs - Mount Brown. St. John Bosco Boys retreat with Fr Henry Croasdaile SJ and Br Byrne.

Crusaders of Mary

Department of Defence Retreat Group at Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin.

Description of a diploma on vellum issued by Fr General Mutio Vitelleschi SJ concerning the setting up of a sodality in Dublin under the name of Our Lady of the Annunciation (27 May 1627).

Entrance to Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin. The Irish and Vatican flags are flying.

Granting of establishment for the B.V.M Immaculate Conception at St Francis Xavier's by the Congregationi Primae Primariae.

First group of boy retreatants at Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin. Senior Grade, North Richmond Street, Dublin - Keogh Brothers. With names.

Material relating to Fr John B Kerr SJ which includes correspondence with Irish Fr Provincials and curia, personal record and application to join the Society.

File containing Richard Maguire's admission papers and correspondence with Irish Fr Provincials relating to retreat and mission work and his time as chaplain at the Royal Hospital of the Incurables, Donnybrook, Dublin.

Letter from Fr Ladislaus Zabdyr SJ, Chikuni, PO Chisekesi, Northern Rhodesia to Irish Fr Provincial John R MacMahon SJ, St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin imploring him to respond to his request for Irish Jesuits to be sent to the mission (1p). With airgraph copy.

Grotto erected by employees of the Dublin United Tramways Co., Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin - Independent Newspapers. With committe names.

Group at the entrance to Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin. The Irish and Vatican flags are flying. Includes Jesuits, l-r Bob Thompson, Tony Baggot, Matthew Meade, Paddy Doyle, George Fallon, Seán Ó Duibhir and Jim Fitzgerald.

Group at the entrance to Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin. Includes Fr Matthew Meade SJ.

Group of retreatants at Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin.

File of group photographs and negatives belonging to Fr Pádraic Ó Brólcháin SJ. Includes:

• Juniors Villa, Gormanstown Castle, County Meath, 1930;
• Juniors 1932;
• Juniorate 1933;
• Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin, 1933;
• Irish speaking villa to Roundstone, County Galway [1935] and [1936];
• Clongowes Wood College villa in Glengarriff, County Cork, 1938;
• Milltown Park, Dublin [1940 - 41].

All photographs include Fr. Pádraic Ó Brólcháin S.J.

Guestbook for those on retreat at Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin.

Handwritten monthly accounts of costs of food and supplies for retreats at Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin (includes bread, butter, sugar, milk, tea and jam).

‘Historia Domus. Resid[ence] St. Fran[cis] Xav[ier]’, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin. Lined notebook with handwritten entries which record important dates in the history of the church and community at Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin. Gives some background history from 1829 - 1884 and a photograph of Fr Thomas Kelly SJ. Includes information such as: members of the community and records the arrival of new members and the departure of the old, illnesses, deaths and funerals, novenas, feasts, building work carried out to the buildings and church notices. Also contains several insertions, some loose and some pasted onto notebook pages including; newspaper cuttings of special ceremonies, advent, calendars and retreats. Includes contents page by Fr James Rabbitte SJ.

Individual at Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin with Fr Patrick Barrett SJ.

A file of letters from Joseph Alipius Goold, Bishop of Melbourne, Bishop's House, Melbourne, Australia to Irish Fr Provincial Edmund O'Reilly SJ concerning an invitation to the Irish Province to set up a mission in his diocese.

Knights of Loyola and C. Y. M. S. (St Catherine’s Branch) - with Fr Patrick Barrett SJ at Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin. College Studios.

Knights of Loyola and L. M. & S. Railway Co. with Fr Patrick Barrett SJ at Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin - College Studios.

Knights of Loyola, Sports Cohort at Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin.

Laymen's retreat association annual re- union. Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin. With Jesuits including Michael Sweetman.

Leaflet issued by the Irish Messenger Office entitled 'Retreats at Rathfarnham Castle. Answers to Questions.'

Leaflet of the 'Novena of Divine Grace in Honour of St Francis Xavier' at the church of St Francis Xavier, Dublin.

Leaflet entitled 'Souvenir of the Novena of Grace 1949' at the church of St Francis Xavier, S.J. Dublin.

Letter from Fr Ladislaus Zabdyr SJ, Chikuni, PO Chisekesi, Northern Rhodesia to Irish Fr Provincial John R MacMahon SJ, St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin concerning the news that the Irish Province is to send Irish Jesuits to Northern Rhodesia. Explains the situation in the mission. Remarks 'Any man that can be spared and is willing to come will be welcome because at any time one can expect that some one of those still at work here may break down…'.

Letter from the Irish Fr Provincial Edmund O'Reilly SJ, Milltown Park, Dublin to [ ] concerning two fathers setting out from Ireland to establish the Australian Mission (Fr William Kelly SJ and Fr Joseph Lentaigne SJ). Refers to Fr Therry's brother in Cork who has agreed to co-operate in anyway so that the Jesuit fathers may secure their bequest.

Draft of a circular letter from [ ], Milltown Park, Dublin to [ ] concerning the organisation of a retreat for lay gentleman.

Letter from Bishop Thomas Furlong to Dr O'Reilly. Asks him to provide a retreat at Milltown Park, Dublin for four young men whom Bishop Furlong intends to ordain at the end of the month.

Letter from Fr Eugene Ward SJ, Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin to Irish Fr Provincial John R McMahon SJ asking him to say Mass for the promoters of the Retreat House and to have dinner afterwards.

Copy letter from Fr Matthew Meade SJ, Director, Retreat House, Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin to Retreat Promoters, Retreat House, Rathfarnham Castle concerning the new road and long term development plans and how these might affect Rathfarnham Castle. Reassures the Association that the work of the retreats will not be disrupted.

Letter from Fr Patrick J Connolly SJ, 35 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin to Irish Fr Provincial Thomas Byrne SJ, St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin urging him to consider taking over the Jesuit Mission of Northern Rhodesia from the Polish Province. Remarks 'The mission is a going concern: to take it over would cost nothing save in man-power. It has its residences, chapels, schools, landed property (some thousands of acres waiting to be exploited)'.

Copy letter from Fr Superior (Fr Robert Tyndall SJ), St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin to the Sodalists concerning the Annual Sale of Work to raise money for the missions in Canton and Hong Kong.

Letter from Fr Tom Counihan SJ, Retreat House, Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin to Irish Fr Provincial Michael O'Grady SJ concerning the number of retreats being organised at Rathfarnham. Refers to the need for a kitchen and remarks that funds could be raised through the Layman's Retreat Association.

Letter from Fr Tom Counihan SJ, Retreat House, Rathfarnham, Dublin to Irish Fr Provincial Michael O'Grady SJ concerning the running of the Retreat House. Expresses his concerns 'I cannot get Fr Joe to see that the iron heel, threats and expulsions are all futile...I appealed to him not to break my heart...no good. Joe is going to build a new tradition on fear and terror!'

Letter from Irish Fr Provincial John Fahy SJ to Fr Aubrey Gwynn SJ concerning the newly founded ‘lectureship in Ancient History in U.C.D.’. ‘I feel that you will be very much disappointed when I ask you… to present yourself as a candidate; for I know that you wish to go to China. Do try to forgive me when I ask you to do something that pleases you less.’

Letter from Irish Fr Provincial, St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin to Fr Joseph Erraught SJ concerning the availability of rooms in Gardiner Street for retreats. Remarks that there is a shortage of space in the house. Continues that it may be necessary for Rathfarnham to 'cede' some rooms.

Letter from Michael Scott, Architect, 19 Merrion Square, Dublin to Fr Joseph Erraught SJ, Retreat House, Rathfarnham Castle concerning the erection of a statue of St Ignatius by the sculptor Oisín Kelly at Rathfarnham and payment for same.

Letter from Mrs P. Elkinson, Secretary, Catholic Marriage Advisory Council, All Hallows College, Drumcondra, Dublin 9 to Fr Matthew Meade SJ, Rathfarnham Retreat House, Dublin 14 concerning payment for a retreat attended at Rathfarnham.

Copy of a letter from Irish Fr Provincial Edmund O'Reilly SJ, Milltown Park, Dublin to the Bishop of Melbourne, James Alipius Goold, concerning the arrival of Frs Lentaigne and Kelly in Australia in order '...to take preliminary steps for the establishment of our Society in Melbourne.'

Letter from Fr John Bannon SJ to Fr Aloysius Sturzo SJ. Informs the latter that [Br.] Carolan wishes to make a few days’ retreat at Milltown Park, Dublin.

Letters and report to the Irish Fr Provincial from Fr Leonard Sheil SJ concerning missions in Spain, comparisons with missions in Britain and Ireland and the possibility of Fr Sheil’s working in South America. Includes:
– letter from Fr Sheil to the Irish Fr Provincial seeking permission to go to Spain to study Spanish missions in order to adapt certain practices for use in Britain (7 September. 1961, 4pp);
– copy of a ‘Report on Missions in Spain’ following a visit by Frs Shiggins and Sheil who attended five missions around the country (n.d., 4pp);
– letter from Fr Sheil to the Irish Fr Provincial in which he discusses certain Spanish customs which could be used on Missions in Britain. Remarks that he will send the Provincial a report ‘on the meetings I now hold with Protestant clergymen after missions in Ireland’ and that he has sent in ‘full reports on our missions in Britain’ ‘almost every year for ten years’. Also mentions a new member of the mission staff, Fr Kevin Laheen SJ – ‘You will be glad to know that Fr Laheen on this his first mission did very well. He preaches well and his musical voice was a help to O'Beirne and I. I need not tell you that O'Beirne preaches very well, and is a wonderful companion on a mission. He sleeps badly’ (Fr Gerry O'Beirne) (23 March 1963, 3pp) and
– letters seeking permission to go to Spain (and Italy) as a supply priest (25 May 19?? – 30 November 1965, 4 items).

A file of letters concerning retreats given by Fr John Counihan SJ to the novices in the Society of African Missions.

A file of letters from Fr Joseph Erraught SJ to Irish Fr Provincial O'Grady SJ expressing his concerns over the retreats organised at Rathfarnham and how the organisation of the Retreat House might be improved.

Letters from Fr Patrick O'Mara SJ, Leighlinbridge, County Carlow to Irish Fr Provincial Thomas V Nolan SJ concerning the taking of a retreat provided he can have a rest beforehand and his commission to join an Irish regiment as a chaplain in World War One.

Letters from Fr William Gleeson SJ to Irish Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan SJ concerning a debenture and the giving of a parish mission in Kerry.

Letters to the Irish Fr Provincial from Fr Leonard Sheil SJ, various Jesuits and others relating to Fr Sheil’s work in the Jesuit church in Galway. Includes:
– letters from Fr Sheil and the Secretary of the International Catholic Girls’ Protection Society (Veritas House, Lower Abbey Street, Dublin) regarding radio broadcasts for Irish emigrants in England and an appeal for funds for the I.C.G.P.S. (see also J16/6) (7 November 1941 - 6 June 1942, 3 items);
– letters from Fr Hugh Kelly SJ (Rector, Rathfarnham Castle) and Fr Patrick O'Kelly SJ (Director of the Pioneers Association) reporting complaints about Fr Sheil’s behaviour with regard to the content of his lectures to secondary school girls, his running of the Sodalities in Galway and his comments to a young girl who came to him for religious instruction (17 November - 20 December 1942, 4 items);
– letters from Fr Sheil, Fr Hugh Kelly SJ and the Superior of the Presentation Convent, Dundrum, County Tipperary requesting permission for Fr Sheil to give various lectures and retreats and to act as Special Confessor to the nuns of Dundrum Presentation Convent (26 January - 24 May 1943, 3 items) and
– letter from Fr Sheil enclosing a list of his sodality work in Galway, to help his successor, ‘I have tried all these two years to get these works into such order that anyone could carry them on, but I have not had the time. Many details of organization have still to be put into practice. The walls are built but the roof is not yet on. However there is plenty of brains and holiness among the men and women engaged in the work. If I could have any wish where obedience is concerned, I would wish to stay with them’ (8 August 1943, 3pp).

Letters to the Irish Fr Provincial, mostly from Fr Leonard Sheil SJ, relating to his Mission work throughout Ireland. Includes:

• letters concerning a Retreat given by Fr Sheil in Killorglin, County Kerry, a lecture in Cashel, County Tipperary and Missions in Cobh, County Cork and Harrington Street, Dublin (24 November 1943 - 7 August 1945, 6 items);
• letter from Fr Sheil offering to ‘go to any country where…I would be of use in the service of God, Africa, Australia, China or the Continent.’ Also seeks permission to become the Spiritual Director of the International Catholic Girls’ Protection Society (see also J16/5). ‘Their work (they are some thirty years in existence in Dublin) was chiefly the meeting and protecting of girls travelling, especially to England. Now it includes a registry office of which the object is to find work for girls in Ireland and so obviate the necessity of going to England.…They hope to start a small training hostel for domestics. The Archbishop is very favourable.…I have given their radio broadcast for the past five years, bringing in £100 more or less each year. The work of the Spiritual Director would be to attend the monthly meeting of the Committee…and on these occasions to give what assistance he can as a priest.…In favour of it,…it offers a field of work for youth; and…perhaps no class of youth needs help more than the young country girl, perhaps from a convent orphanage, who comes to Dublin to domestic service…’ (21 Feb. 1946, 3pp);
• letter from Socius Fr John Coyne SJ to the Irish Provincial relating to a report in the 'Irish Press' of a lecture on ‘Friends of Soviet Russia’ given by Fr Sheil to the Ringsend C.Y.M.S. in which Fr Sheil referred to Dáil Éireann members as ‘frightful loafers’. Encloses clipping of report (2 Dec. 1946, 1p.) and letter from Fr Sheil to Fr Coyne explaining the circumstances of the lecture (n.d., 2pp);
• letter from Fr Sheil reporting on a number of young men who wish to join the Society and his activities on a recent visit to the North of Ireland (2 Apr. 1947, 4pp) and
• letter to the Irish Provincial Fr Thomas Byrne SJ from Dr Edward Doorly, Bishop of Elphin stating ‘Father Sheil did not give any offence worth mentioning and further…he gave a splendid Retreat to the priests’ (18 May 1949, 1p.).

Letters to the Irish Provincial on various matters. Includes letters concerning:

• Polish scholastics coming to Ireland to study;
• the censuring individual scholastics;
• financial matters of the late Fr Henry Browne SJ;
• the taking of villas during wartime;
• a report on Irish theologians in Hong Kong;
• the question of censorship of various publications (See also ADMN/3/1 and 23);
• the question of Jesuit support for the Catholic Association for International Relations;
• a proposal by Fr Patrick J Connolly SJ to open a Jesuit school in Dartry;
• the Secret Instruction of the Holy See: Normae Quaedam De Agendi Ratione Confessariorum Circa VI Decalogi Praeceptum;
• the prohibition of female characters in plays produced by scholastics;
• comments on Director’s Service from Sodality reports of summer 1944 (See also ADMN/3/65 and 74);
• the publication of a book entitled Selected Writings of Father Ledochowski (See also ADMN/3/44);
• an invitation to the Irish Fr Provincial to the inauguration of President Seán T. Ó Ceallaigh (see also ADMN/3/43 and 76) in June 1945, signed by Taoiseach Éamon de Valera;
• relations with the Confederación Nacional de Congregaciones Marians;
• the proposal to purchase Crawfordsburn Estate, County Down (see also ADMN/3/6);
• the Chair of Education in University College, Dublin and
• some suggestions about choirs in the Province.

Letters to the Irish Provincial on various matters. Includes letters concerning financial matters and;
– a complaint about an individual Jesuit with regard to his behaviour while conducting a retreat for nuns (See also ADMN/3/36);
– a draft deed of trust for the Father Delany Exhibition (See also ADMN/3/13);
– the health and financial affairs of various scholastics;
– the proposal for the establishment of a [school] at Tullabeg by the Society of Pious Missions;
– a conference of Jesuit Fathers in Chicago for the purpose of adopting a Provisional Constitution of the ‘Frequent Communion Guild’;
– requests for money from various individuals;
– the campaign to appoint a Catholic Director to the Board of Directors of the Clogher Valley Railway (the Society are shareholders in the Railway);
– the appointment of Jesuits to various offices;
– a petition to the British government ‘to show mercy to Roger Casement’;
– a proposed portrait of Archbishop Walsh by Sir John Lavery;
– a profit and loss account of the Irish Monthly for year ending 31 August 1914 (See also ADMN/3/20; 66; 67);
– the work of St. Joseph's Young Priests (See also ADMN/3/53);
– lists of locations of Retreats and names of priests giving Retreats for 1912 and 1913 (See also ADMN/3/36; 41);
– suggestions for Retreats given by Jesuits, by Dr Patrick Foley, Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin (1896-1926) and memorandum on the scheme to establish a small lending library in Milltown Park for priests (See also ADMN/3/12; 38).

Letters written from Jesuits in Northern Rhodesia to the Irish Fr Provincial Thomas Byrne SJ.

• Includes a letter from Fr Patrick J O'Brien SJ (one of the two Jesuits sent out to Northern Rhodesia by Irish Fr Provincial) remarking 'The situation here is desperate. There is no other word to describe it. It was already critical when the first appeal was made to the Irish Province. And while Fr Patrick J Walsh SJ and myself were waiting for a boat to come here, 3 fathers died. Since then we have lost a fourth…' (7 January 1948, 2pp).
• Includes a letter from Fr Patrick J O'Brien SJ, PO Box 125, Lusaka, Northern Rhodesia to Fr Provincial Thomas Byrne SJ thanking him for agreeing to send two more Jesuits to the mission (Fr Maurice Dowling SJ & Fr Daniel Shields SJ, although Fr Joseph Gill SJ subsequently went in Fr Shield's place) (7 April 1948, 2pp).

Letters written from Jesuits in Northern Rhodesia to the Irish Fr Provincial Thomas Byrne SJ.

• Includes a letter from Fr Patrick J Walsh SJ, PO Box 87, Broken Hill, Northern Rhodesia referring to the imminent opening of the secondary school in Chikuni. Remarks that without Frs Dowling and Gill they would not have been able to open the school. Remarks that they are still waiting for the rains to come so that the maize crop can be sown (4 January 1949, 4pp).
• Includes a letter from Fr Patrick J Walsh SJ, PO Box 87, Broken Hill, Northern Rhodesia describing the difficulties of the mission while it remains under complete control of the Polish Province (30 October 1949, 3pp).
• Includes a letter from Fr Patrick J Walsh SJ, PO Box 87, Broken Hill, Northern Rhodesia concerning the possibility of the Irish Province taking over the Lusaka Prefecture. Remarks that he would welcome the development as long as it was entirely independent of the Polish Jesuits (5 December 1949, 4pp).

List of candidates proposed for membership of the Sodality of Our Lady Help of Christians, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin. Includes members from Dublin establishments such as Pim Bros, McBirney's, Todd, Burns and Co. Ltd, Henry Street Warehouse, Arnotts, Clery and Co.

Alphabetical list of promoters of weekend retreats at Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin.

Bound list of retreat promoters, from Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin.

Lists of spiritual books suitable for distribution by Directors at Diocesan Retreats.

Mar Ivanios, Archbishop of Trivandrum, India with [retreatants] at Rathfarnham Castle during the Eucharistic Congress. With Fr Patrick Barrett SJ. See photograph FM/RATH/177. One copy is signed - Keogh Brothers Ltd.

Letter to Irish Fr Provincial Cecil McGarry from Sr Mary Regis, Mercy Convent, Doon, County Limerick, following Fr Leonard Sheil's death. Encloses letters sent to her from Fr Sheil over a number of years and press-cuttings relating to him, in the hope they might be useful to the Society when writing Fr Sheil's biography. States ‘I thought I would like to do a little for him after all he did for me.…When he started his missions in England I used to make pictures & pieties to help him & send them to the different addresses. He sent me accounts of these missions…He never thought of himself, his aim was to use everything he could to bring souls to God… I have kept letters of his since 1939 & all the years of the war & until he wrote before Christmas to announce his illness’ (Aug. 1968, 4pp). Encloses seven letters from Fr Sheil, thanking her for sending badges and medals and discussing her health and his missions. Includes letter in which he remarks ‘…thanks so much for all your lovely pictures and things. They are immensely valued over here. Sometimes indeed religion is not valued, but I hope that these pictures etc. will make it impossible for them to forget the lovely things of Our Faith. One little boy brought five Protestant pals, mostly bigger than himself, to the mission at West Hartlepool. I have had many conversions of people years away from Mass and the Sacraments. Many others have rejected me. The [leak]age of the children when they leave school, & have no Catholic school, and no good parents, is frightful. I start missions again on January 8th at Coventry and near Northampton. They will be very tough, so help me with your prayers. I bless each house I enter, put them on their knees, if they don’t refuse, and instal (sic.) a holy picture’ (28 Dec. 19--, 2pp). Also includes photocopies of clippings on Fr Sheil from various English newspapers (n.d., 4 items).

Material on retreats and the retreat house at Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin (removed from ledger folder). Includes:

• list of retreatants at Rathfarnham Castle and notice of opening of retreat house (1922);
• Honorary Secretary's Reports (November 1947-March 1949);
• list of house renovations (August 1949-August 1950);
• costings and receipts for work on the retreat house which includes glass, grotto, kneelers, lamp, radiators, roof, statutes and tabernacle (1949-1962);
• ‘History of Our Lady's Grotto, erected by D.U.T. Co. Employees 1925’ by Thomas Scally, ex-Superintendent. Includes references to the Jesuit school, St Francis Xavier, Lower Dorset Street, better known as Father Gaffney's school (1 April 1950);
• income and expenditure for Laymen's Retreat Association (1948-1953);
• newsletter of the Laymen's Retreat Association, Rathfarnham Castle entitled the Week End Echo (vol. 1-5, 7), (Christmas 1953-September 1955);
• handicap sweepstakes results for Laymen's Retreat Association at Rathfarnham Castle (1954-55)
• order of time for retreats for Chinese students at Rathfarnham Castle (4 April 1955);
• correspondence from Michael Scott, Architect, for drawings of the retreat house, Rathfarnham Castle (1955-57);
• income for retreat house at Rathfarnham Castle (1958-59);
• schedule of estimates for proposed decoration at Rathfarnham Castle (1958-1961);
• drawings, correspondence and accounts from James A. Doyle Architect, for works at the retreat house, Rathfarnham Castle (1959-1960);
• newspaper report of ‘Restoration of grotto erected in 1924 by D.U.T.C. men’ from Nuacht CIE (23 October 1964);
• notes on Laymen’s Retreat Association at Rathfarnham Castle, Christian Life Communities (CLC) seminar (21 April 1974);
• Guidelines for the constitution for the Laymen's Retreat Association & Christian Life Communities (CLC) (1977);
• notice of the restoration work done by the Association of Retreat Promotors for the Laymen’s Retreat Association (nd.);
• postcard with order of time on reverse of weekend retreats at Rathfarnham Castle and notice of non-attendance (nd.);

File relating to Retreat promoters and programmes at Rathfarnham Castle, the golden jubilee year of the retreat house (1972) and the Layman’s Retreat Association.

A file relating to the Irish Jesuit Mission Office (The Ricci Mission Unit) based in Ireland. The file contains financial information (accounts, donations and burses) relating to the Hong Kong mission, letters by Fr Thomas Martin SJ, relating to the administration of the Hong Kong mission and personnel/volunteers for the mission.

A file relating to the Layman's Retreat Association, Rathfarnham Castle. Includes a description of a weekend retreat held in Rathfarnham by one of the participants, Joseph S. Considine (nd, 5pp).