The Irish Province of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) approached Denis Redmond of Belmont Lodge in 1858 to act as their agent and trustee in purchasing Milltown Park from Mr Calvert Stronge, City Magistrate for £4,500. In 1860, the novitiate at Milltown Park was built and Fr Aloysius Sturzo SJ (1826-1908) arrived with sixteen Jesuits novices who had been expelled from Sicily by Garibaldi. Since that time, Milltown Park has operated as a novitiate (house of first formation), retreat house, house of philosophy and theology for the Society of Jesus in Ireland.
Archival History ↴
Material collected by the Irish Province of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits).
Immediate Source Acquisition ↴
Official Transfer
Content & Structure
Scope & Content: Irish Jesuits ↴
The papers of Milltown Park concern the Jesuit community (1861-1979) and works which have occurred there: Tabor House (1969-1993); The Milltown Institute (1968-1992) and The Irish School of Ecumenics (1969-1980). There are references to the missions, chaplaincy, villas, finances, customs, property retreats, library, customs, rules, studies, health, staff, ordinations, the establishment and eventual closure of a retreat centre at Tabor House, the foundation of courses in theology and philosophy for the training of religious and lay people, Milltown Lectures (1960-1970), Lay Retreat Association and the establishment of the Irish School of Ecumenics.
Material is in the form of handwritten letters, ledgers, postcards, accounts, architectural plans, cuttings from newspapers, maps, photographs, menus, bills and receipts.
Appraisal Destruction ↴
All items retained permanently
Accruals ↴
Periodically
Arrangement ↴
Material was catalogued in 1998, with additions every year from 2000 onwards.
Conditions of Access & Use
Access Conditions
The Irish Jesuit Archives are open only to bona fide researchers. Access by advance appointment. Further details: www.jesuitarchives.ie
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No material may be reproduced without the written permission of the Archivist. Copyright restrictions apply. Photocopying is not available. Digital photography is at the discretion of the Archivist.
Andrews, Fr Paul SJ, ‘A hundred years of Milltown Park’, Jesuit Year Book, 1958, pp5-12.
Duffy, Fr Hugh SJ, ‘Past, Present, Future', Jesuit Year Book, 1967, pp39-47.
Nerney, Fr Denis SJ, ‘The fire at Milltown Park’, Irish Jesuit Directory and Year Book, 1950, pp146-149.
Reid, Fr Desmond SJ, ‘Rebuilding Milltown Park’, Irish Jesuit Directory, 1954, pp137-143.
Scantlebury, Fr Charles SJ, ‘The Jesuit house in Ireland’, Irish Jesuit Directory and Year Book, 1944, pp154-156.
Memorials of the Irish Province, S. J. Centenary Year 1814-1914, parts I & II. Dublin: O'Brien & Ards, 1914.
Descriptive Control Area
Archivist Note
Damien Burke
Rules/Conventions
IGAD: Irish Guidelines for Archival Description. Dublin: Society of Archivists, Ireland, 2009.
ISAD(G): General International Standard Archival Description. 2nd ed. Ottowa: International Council on Archives, 2000.
National Council on Archives: Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names. Chippenham: National Council on Archives, 1997. Irish Guidelines for Indexing Archives. Dublin: Archives and Records Association, Ireland, 2013
