Sec. Arthur Guinness
Beautiful Calligraphy
Beautiful Calligraphy
The Duke of Leinster was the President of the Knot and Arthur Guinness was, for several decades, the Secretary. Most of the entries in the Kildare Knot Minute Book were handwritten by Arthur Guinness.
Beautiful Calligraphy
Beautiful Calligraphy
Beautiful Calligraphy
Much of the handwritten material is presented in beautiful scripts that reflect on the different writing styles, and on the different paper fabrics, used by the Friendly Brothers of Saint Patrick in different Knots through the centuries.
Very Rare Photographs
Exceptional Bookbinding
Exceptional Bookbinding
The Friendly Brothers of Saint Patrick archive includes rare early photographic albums. This one, dating from 1864, contains photographs of members of the Order, most of which have been signed by photographed person individually.
Exceptional Bookbinding
Exceptional Bookbinding
Exceptional Bookbinding
The quality of the bindings of many of the volumes is remarkable. On further research this archive has the potential to expand knowledge of the history of bookbinding in Ireland since the mid-18th-century
In 2023, the Heritage Council provided the Order with funding to enable us to professionally catalogue our unique archive collection.
We are delighted to report that, this year, the Council has allocated further funding to help us to digitise the archive. When this work is completed, the collection will become much more accessible to historians, genealogists and other researchers.