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.

This collection contains a diverse range of records relating to the Lilburn family of Limerick city. The first part contains material created and generated by the accountancy firm of Metcalfe, Lilburn and Enright, illustrating the growth and development of the company from the 1920s to the 1970s. The client files show the practice to have been the leading Protestant accountancy firm in the city, with clients such as Adare Tobacco Manufacturing Company established by the fourth Earl of Dunraven in the early 1900s. The second part consists of personal records of the Lilburn family, predominantly relating to the education and hobbies of Hugh Lilburn and his son Stewart Lilburn. Of particular note is a set of personal account books which provides useful insights into middle class household economy from the 1920s to the 1970s. Also of interest are the minute books of the North Munster branch of the Irish Hockey Union from 1901 to 1941. The third part comprises records of the Limerick Presbyterian Church, mostly created by Stewart Lilburn in his role as Honorary Secretary in the 1960s and 1970s. This part also contains a copy of Hugh Lilburn’s book Presbyterians in Limerick (1946) and a subsequent reprint (1959). Together, these three parts provide a valuable cross-section of all aspects of the lives of three generations of a well-to-do Protestant middle-class family in twentieth-century Limerick.

This collection contains invoices, receipts and some related correspondence from wholesalers, specialist providers and other commercial outlets mainly in Limerick city and county, but also in Dublin and England accrued by John McCarthy in his role as farmer, publican and baker. The documents date from the time of the Irish War of Independence (1919-1921) and Irish Civil War (1922-1923) and reveal the way in which these conflicts interfered with commerce and trade and the availability of certain goods such as sugar and flour. It also provides insights into the commercial life of the country in its first years of independence, the cost of goods, the range of commercial outlets available and the rise of the large department stores.

Bound hardback account book, embossed on the spine 'Limerick Rent Book 180-1824' in gilt lettering. The book contains accounts kept by Francis Arthur, merchant and developer of Limerick city, primarily of rents collected from tenants of properties in his possession, including Arthurs Quay, Francis Street, Patrick Street, Denmark Street, William Street, Market Alley, Market Stalls, Boherboy & Sexton Street, Georges Street, Mary Street, Robert Street, Coloony Street, Pennywell, Coonagh and Mary Field in Limerick together with stores and ‘two extensive & valuable tenements situate in Buckingham Square & White Street' in Cork city. The book also contains accounts of Francis Arthur's annual business income and outgoings and of insurances payable by him, lists of rents assigned by Francis Arthur to his son Patrick Edmond Arthur and his son-in-law Daniel Leahy upon their respective marriages; transactions with various private banks including Robert Shaw & Co; Curtis, Robarts & Co.; and Thomas and William Roche; accounts of various court cases in which Arthur was involved and legal matters relating to the death of his son-in-law Patrick Grene [Greene] and his son Patrick Edmond Arthur; statements concerning bonds, mortgages and dividends; statements concerning rent arrears and other debts due to Arthur; and business accounts of his son-in-law Daniel Leahy. The latter pages contain accounts of financial transactions with individuals and businesses in France, including Luke Callaghan of Paris, Monsieur Everard Surdobbel of St Omer and Dominick Morel & Fils of Dunkerque [Dunkirk]. The accounts conclude with a list of Francis Arthur's funeral expenses added to the book in a different hand.

The back of the book contains a handwritten copy of a conveyance dated 1822 between Francis Arthur of the first part; his daughter Ellen Arthur of the second part; and his son-in-law Daniel Leahy of the third part, in which Arthur transfers the entirety of his property to Daniel Leahy to create a provision for his daughters Ellen Arthur and Margaret Leahy and to create a fund for his own maintenance and support.

The book is paginated but the pagination is irregular. For the accounts part, mirrored pagination has been applied, that is the verso and recto sides of an opening bear the same page number. Pages 1a-4a are missing, as are pages 10b/11a, 31b-35a, 42a/43b (except for the topmost part), 48b/49a, 51b/52a and 70b/71a. About one third of page 61b/62a is missing, while pages 74b/75a and 96b-98a lack bottom halves. From page 147 each page is numbered individually; page 154 appears three times, and from page 155 to book reverts to mirrored numbering until its conclusion with page 165. The pages at the end of the book containing the copy conveyance have been numbered individually, from 1 to 74. The intervening pages between these two sections are blank, except for sketches by a young person. Similar sketches appear on other pages throughout the book and are probably of late nineteenth- or early twentieth-century origin.