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The Coote papers comprise in the main early twentieth-century correspondence and accounts maintained by the Coote family’s land agents Guinness, Mahon & Co. and, from 1953, William Montgomery & Son Ltd. The correspondence is routine by nature and illustrates the less glamorous side of estate management involving leaky roofs and inadequate sewage pipes. There is an interesting set of deeds, the earliest of which date from the second half of the eighteenth century; a lengthy marriage settlement drawn up on the eve of the marriage of Grace Coote and the Reverend Henry Bathurst; and letters of administration relating to complications arising from the will of Charles Henry Coote whose heir and two executors all died before probate could be granted. There is also an extensive set of grazing and letting agreements from 1876 to 1953, mostly dealing with plots of ground in the vicinity of the town of Maryborough (now Portlaoise) in county Laois. Perhaps the most important item in this collection is a bound hardcover volume of hand-drawn maps of the estates of General Sir Eyre Coote (1726-1783) surveyed in 1803 by Robert Ely (P10/5/1). Each page in the book is devoted to a single townland, with a helpful index providing the name and total acreage of each townland and the name of its tenant.

The papers in the collection relate mainly to the Sandville branch of the family and mostly to the activities of James Grene Barry (1841-1929). They include early twentieth-century notes on family history, possibly compiled by James Grene Barry who was known for his antiquarian interests. The notes trace the history of the Sandville and other branches of the family to Elizabethan times and include much interesting material, such as handwritten copies of leases, mortgages and other documents, and pedigrees of the Barry and other families.

James Grene Barry’s political activities are recorded in a series of documents relating to his objection to Gladstone’s Home Rule Bill of 1893. Of particular interest is a letter from James Alexander Rentoul, MP for East Down, outlining his plans to canvass Grand Jury members across the country against the Bill (P20/2/7).

Administrative records in this collection relate in the main to the Sandville branch Barrys. They are mostly concerned with the family’s financial affairs and also provide an interesting insight into Land League activities in county Limerick at the turn of the twentieth century. One of the few items relating to the Standish Barry branch of Leamlara is a ledger of farm accounts kept by Henry Standish Barry (P20/3/1/1/6).

Another set of documents reflects the professional activities as estate agents of James Grene Barry and his son James Thomas Barry, and the effects on local landowning families of the various Land Acts passed in the early twentieth century. Of particular interest are items relating to the purchase of land from Henry Lyons of Croom Castle (P20/3/2/1/1-9), and the sale of part of the Islandmore estate by Major Roche Kelly (P20/3/2/2/1-2).

Finally, the collection contains deeds and a draft will relating to the Shine family of Coolyhenan, county Limerick, many of whom served as Justices of the Peace for county Limerick in the late nineteenth century. The reason for their presence among the Barry papers has not been ascertained.

This collection comprises early twentieth-century scrapbooks and photograph albums compiled by Robert Rennie Ballingal and his daughter Dorothy Ballingal, anonymous threat letters received by Robert Rennie Ballingal during the land war in his role as agent to the 4th Earl of Dunraven, presentation books received by him on his retirement, and information relating to the Royal Irish Automobile Club, of which he was a member.