Religious Society of Friends (Cork and Munster)

Context

Creator(s): Society of Friends, ‘Quakers’ (Cork and Munster)

• Administrative History ↴

  The Religious Society of Friends was founded by the 17th century by Christian visionary George Fox. Its members came to be known as ‘Quakers’. William Edmundson, a former Cromwellian soldier established the Society’s first meeting for worship in Ireland in 1654. The Quakers have had a presence in Cork since the 1650s. George Fox visited Cork in 1669. Many Cork Quakers were involved in trade, and were respected for their honesty and industry. During the 19th century the Beale, Pike, and Newsom families, and other Quakers, were successful merchants and industrialists in Cork. During the Great Famine (1845-48) the Cork Quakers won the affection of the people for their efforts to alleviate suffering. The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) meeting house in Cork city was located at Grattan Street, Cork from 1677, and at Summerhill South from 1939. Meetings were also held at Bandon, Charleville and Youghal in County Cork.

• Archival History ↴

  Microfilming of Cork and Munster archives of the Society of Friends held at Historical Library, Rathfarnham, Dublin, took place in 2006. Project was jointly funded by the Society of Friends, the Heritage Council and Archives. Many of the original records would previously have been kept in the Cork Meeting House but were later transferred to the Quaker Library in Dublin.

• Immediate Source Acquisition ↴

  Donation