This collection is a fascinating record of the life and career of writer Kate O’Brien, providing not only a cross-section of her literary output, but also an insight into the private world of one of Limerick’s most prolific daughters. This body of material is an extremely valuable source for researchers in Ireland and abroad. It contains many personal items such as O’Brien’s correspondence with family, friends and admirers, diaries recording appointments and other news, and material relating to her financial affairs. Her long-term relationship with artist Mary O’Neill is reflected in a number of cards and postcards exchanged between the two women from the late 1940s until the year of O’Brien’s death. Letters from José M. De Areilza, one of O’Brien’s former students in Bilbao, suggest how living and working in Spain influenced the writer. De Areilza states the following in a letter dated 26 May 1952, ‘…this year I went to London for a short trip… and found at last the famous “Mary Lavelle” which I was looking for since years ago. You can imagine with what a tremendous anxiety I went through that pages and the vivid scenes of life in “Casa-Pilar” at Cabantes, Altorno. The book is really fascinating. And for me it was still more, because a whole world which slept in my memories, for years, woke up and dreamt again as in the golden times of adolescence. Thank you, Miss Kitty, for bringing to life that dear shadows of my youth!’ (P12/1/2/2/5).

O'Brien’s diaries, dating from the early 1960s and covering just over a decade, record the writer’s daily activities, appointments, travel plans, financial dealings and occasionally more personal information such as the state of her health or mood. The collection also provides insights into O’Brien’s financial affairs. A letter to the Collector of Taxes in London dated 5 June 1963 reveals her on-going struggle to control her finances, ‘…I am not resident in the British Isles. It is my intention to live there, but since I sold my house in Ireland three and a half years ago I have been in very bad circumstances; have been living as the guest of friends and relatives in Ireland or in Spain, am unable to pay rent anywhere, and earn only pittances… I cannot afford to rent even a bed-sitting room’ (P12/1/4/2/5).

The component of O’Brien’s literary work is mostly in draft format and often contains handwritten amendments. It consists of travelogues, articles, essays and short stories, lectures, biographies, novels, and material for radio and film. Essays and short stories in draft format include ‘Singapore has fallen’ (1942), ‘On Ballycottin Strand’ (1945), ‘Old Balls MacSweeney’ (1956), ‘Boney Fidey’ (1956) and ‘Manna’ (1962). Two drafts of ‘Presentation Parlour’, the author’s reminiscences of her aunts, are contained in the collection. One of these documents reveals a selection of possible titles for the final publication including ‘Presentation Parlour’, ‘Five Aunts’ or ‘My Aunts’ (P12/2/1/4/2/1). One of the most interesting components, however, is the body of material relating to O’Brien’s last novel, ‘Constancy’, which remained incomplete at the time of her death. The collection holds both handwritten and typescript drafts of book one and two of the novel, each containing their own amendments. O’Brien’s interest in poetry is also reflected in two handwritten drafts of a poem about Haverstock Hill executed by the author in 1964.

The collection also illuminates O’Brien’s dealings with her literary agents and publishers and includes publishing contracts outlining conditions relating to copyright, royalties, publishing rights and payments, as well as financial material and correspondence. The author’s involvement with broadcasting bodies such as British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Radio Éireann and Radio Telefís Éireann (RTE) is also represented. A letter from Guy Vaesen from the Script Unit of the BBC dated 12 October 1973 refers to the script for ‘Pray for the Wanderer’, stating ‘It has not been the easiest novel in the world to dramatize and this final version is the fourth’ (P12/2/3/1/2).

Also of interest are mostly typescript drafts of articles produced by O’Brien from her home in Kent as part of the ‘Long Distance’ series for the Irish Times, addressing a variety of issues from Northern Ireland to Charles de Gaulle. There are also drafts of lectures for different audiences including the Europea degli Scrittori, Sir William Gibb School for Girls in Faversham, Canterbury College of Art, and Association of Professional and Business Women. Of additional interest is O’Brien’s involvement with educational projects such as the Catholic Youth Encyclopaedia, Irish Week in the University of Valladolid in Madrid, Spain, and the Canadian Association for Irish Studies in McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

Media coverage of Kate O’Brien includes reviews and articles relating to the author’s work dating from the 1920s to the middle of the 1980s, a scrapbook of press-cuttings from 1927 to 1934, and a number of articles on other subjects including the death of actress Katherine Cornell, the Burren in county Clare and politician Cecelia Lynch. There are also press cuttings relating to the death of O’Brien in 1974 in the Irish and British Press. Publications and other printed matter in the collection include works by Kathleen Cunningham, copies of two of O’Brien’s novels, ‘Without My Cloak’ (which contains the signature of Mary O'Neill's sister, Elizabeth Hall), and ‘Mary Lavelle’, a programme of a bullfight at Plaza de Toros de Madrid, and of the play ‘That Lady’ performed at Dipson’s Erlanger Theatre in October 1949. An essay by O’Brien entitled ‘As to University Life’ includes a handwritten note on the cover of the volume which reads ‘This may amuse you, pet – frightful misprints and all! It is causing uproar in the Governing Body of UCD – which was my hope & purpose in writing it’ (P12/4/7).

The photographic component provides a valuable record of O’Brien’s family life growing up in county Limerick, school days in Laurel Hill Convent, graduation from University College Dublin, close relationship with her sister Nance, travels to Spain and other locations, brief marriage to Gustaff Renier, literary commitments, life at The Fort in Roundstone, county Galway, move to Kent, England, and passion for cats. Some of the more memorable images in the collection include a black and white photograph of O’Brien’s mother Catherine as a beautiful young woman prior to her premature death from cancer (P12/5/1/1), two black and white images of schoolgirls from Laurel Hill Convent, some of the studio portraits of O’Brien (P12/5/2/1/1-17), and an image of O’Brien’s husband, Gustaff Renier (P12/5/1/31).

The collection also documents the sickness and subsequent death of Kate O’Brien in August 1974, and includes documentation from Canterbury Hospital relating to her personal possessions, copies of her death certificate, and correspondence between family and friends. The administration of the writer’s estate is also addressed, and significant documents include O’Brien’s last will and testament, a codicil of will, and material relating to Mary O’Neill’s dealings in her capacity as O’Brien’s Literary Executrix.

The O’Mara Papers comprise predominantly business and personal records created and generated by Stephen O’Mara Junior (1884-1959) in the course of his life. Material relating to his parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and siblings is perfunctory.

The business records cover mainly correspondence in O’Mara’s capacity as director of O’Mara’s Bacon Company and later as director of the Bacon Company of Ireland and do not encompass all operational aspects of the business. However the material provides an interesting view of the bacon industry in early 20th-century Ireland and its gradual decline from the 1930s onwards.

The personal records cover O’Mara’s political career, including his three terms as Mayor of Limerick from 1921 to 1923; the second Bond Drive to the United States, his subsequent imprisonment in 1922-1923 and the ensuing court case of 1927; and his later political involvement, particularly his role as a founding director of The Irish Press. His personal correspondence is extensive and illustrates O’Mara’s prominent role in the family as a provider of employment opportunities for the younger generations and as a generous source of financial support in times of hardship. Other material of note includes extensive correspondence and architectural drawings relating to Strand House, New Strand House and Ivy Bank House, homes of the O’Mara family.

One of the most significant aspects of the collection is material relating to the O’Brien family of Boru House, particularly the private correspondence of the novelist Kate O’Brien with her sisters, brother-in-law and nephew. The letters illuminate O’Brien’s method of writing, the creative process behind each of her novels and the ups and downs of her career as author. They also reveal her complete lack of financial acumen, her tendency to live wildly beyond her means, and her lifelong dependency on the fiscal good will of Anne and Stephen O’Mara. Of Kate O’Brien’s private life the letters reveal almost nothing, demonstrating a high degree of circumspectness and a tendency to compartmentalise various aspects of her life. The one rare exception is correspondence relating to her brief marriage and its aftermath in 1922-1925 which, while not revelatory as such, exposes a more vulnerable aspect of Kate’s personality.

The O’Brien material also contains correspondence to and from lesser known members of Kate O’Brien’s family, including her parents and her brothers Tom and Eric who died in 1918 and 1920, respectively. A small number of items relate to Michael O’Brien who died in institutional care in 1923. The identity of this individual has not been ascertained but he could possibly be Michael Alphonsus O’Brien who was born between 1888 and 1889 and is claimed to have died in infancy. Also of interest are letters from Austin Clarke to Anne O’Brien in 1916-1917 written in the early stages of the poet’s literary career, which reveal the fragility of his search for expression and sense of identity.

The material also comprises an extensive photographic record of the O’Mara and O’Brien families particularly in the 1920s and 1930s.