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Bound hardback volume containing a typescript entitled My Memories, written by Julia Cecilia Harris née Ryan and dedicated to her children and grandchildren, together with a card identifying the names of the memoir’s donors and date of donation. The title page of the volume is dated 17 March 1926 while the last page is dated 19 March 1926. A footnote on p. 8 suggests that the writing of the original manuscript was under way by 1925. In addition, some pages were added as an afterthought in 1927 before the document was bound. Typing is uniform throughout the text, including a much later dedication of January 1945, which reads ‘To Arthur [Arthur James Littledale], from Mummie [Mary Josephine Littledale née Harris] With all my love’. The uniformity of the typescript suggests that the document was typed and bound post 1945. There is also a handwritten dedication on a page preceding the title page ‘For my darling Christopher [Tugendhat], from his devoted Mother, Máire [Tugendhat née Littledale], grand-daughter of the author of these memories. And for his descendants.’ This dedication is dated 29 March 1972 and it is likely that the original manuscript was typed and bound by Máire Tugendhat in that year. The memoir, which narrates Julia Harris’s life events in considerable detail, provides exceptional insights into the life of the prosperous Roman Catholic middle class in Ireland in the second half of the nineteenth century, Ireland’s status as part of the British Empire and the violent events which led to its emergence as an independent nation in the early twentieth century.

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.

Membership lists, correspondence, account books, financial reports, minutes, statements and press releases relating to The Ancient Guild of Incorporated Brick and Stonelayers’ Trade Union, Woodworkers and Plasterers’ Trade Union, Construction Industry Federation, Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Limerick Building Trades Group, SIPTU and other trade unions and union activities (1962-1998); rules, correspondence, bills, receipts and financial reports relating to the Mechanics’ Institute (1882-1996); constitutions and policy statements, press statements, speeches, membership lists, minutes, financial statements, election manifestos, correspondence, pamphlets and posters relating to the Democratic Socialist Party (1980-1994); minutes, reports, statements, accounts and correspondence relating to the Labour Party (1965-1997); electoral material and correspondence relating to Kemmy’s Dáil terms and electoral campaigns (1977-1997); correspondence, speeches, press releases, minutes and appointment diaries relating to Kemmy’s activities as Alderman and Mayor (1974-1997); appeals, petitions and other correspondence relating to Kemmy’s constituency work (1967-1997); articles and draft articles, research material (including nineteenth-century documents) and correspondence relating to Kemmy’s historical and literary activities; and photographs, artwork, correspondence and a small number of other items of personal nature.

This collection contains material relating to J. M. O’Neill’s career as a writer, including drafts and proofs of his plays and novels, press cuttings, publicity material and correspondence. A thesis discussing the significance of O’Neill’s work in the context of Irish writing is also included.

This collection contains photographs, correspondence, school records and ephemera accrued by Hella Scholz during her youth and early adulthood. They provide insights into her life in Germany before and during the Second World War, which revolved mainly around school, hobbies, boyfriends and holidays. Wartime administration and the Nazi regime feature faintly in the backdrop: Hella was a member of Hitler Youth and of Bundes Deutscher Mädel (League of German Girls), the girls’ wing of the Nazi Party youth movement. However, apart from owning a portrait of Adolph Hitler, there is no indication of Hella being a Nazi sympathiser, she was simply a young middle-class girl growing up during the Nazi regime. Some of the collection highlights include Hella’s correspondence with Günther Junge, a rare enough example of an exchange in which the letters of both parties survive, and an extensive photographic record of Hella’s life. The collection provides intimate glimpses of a life which remained remarkably happy and stable during an extraordinarily dark period of European history. Spanning as it does the rise and fall of National Socialism in twentieth-century Germany and post-war Britain, it forms a rewarding primary source for researchers of this era.

This collection contains research notes and research material generated and collected by Grace O’Malley Cantillon while preparing her book on family history titled The Round House O’Malleys: The Power of One Woman! (2014). The collection encompasses a range of primary manuscript material sourced by the author, including letters from her uncle Thomas O’Malley to his mother and sisters while trying to carve out a life for himself in Australia between 1910 and 1914 (P83/1/6/3/2-11). Another interesting compilation of primary material (degree certificates, apprenticeship agreements, personal correspondence and memoirs) relates to Grace O’Malley Cantillon’s father, Charles Vincent O’Malley, who operated a successful dental practice in Limerick city in the first half of the twentieth century (see P83/1/6/7/1/1-P83/1/6/7/5/6). Also worth noting are the memoirs of Frank O’Malley describing his life as a rubber planter in early twentieth-century Malaya (P83/1/6/6/3-5). In addition, there is an extensive photographic component extending back to the 1880s. The primary material in this collection provides useful insights into Ireland as part of the British empire and the blossoming of the prosperous Irish Roman Catholic professional class following Irish independence.

The Glin Papers, unfortunately, do not reflect the long history of the family, as many of the older documents were allegedly burnt in a tantrum by the aptly nick-named ‘Cracked Knight’ or John Fraunceis Eyre FitzGerald, 25th Knight of Glin. They date from 1800 onwards and have been arranged into eight series according to the tenure of the various Knights.

Series A, which relates to John Bateman FitzGerald, 23rd Knight of Glin, contains a single document in the form of a volume which contains a printed copy of a private Act of Parliament passed to force John Bateman to raise money by mortgage or otherwise to pay off incumbrances. The Act shows the incumbrances to amount to almost £14,000 and notes that Colonel John had incurred legal costs of at least £1500 and had spent more than £6000 on Glin Castle and demesne.

Series B relates to John Fraunceis FitzGerald, 24th Knight of Glin and ranges from his marriage settlement with the long-suffering Bridgetta Eyre (1812) to a deed poll appointing him as High Sheriff of Limerick (1830). The marriage settlement burdened the estate to the tune of £8,000, and when his eldest son and heir married in 1835, the estate was further burdened with £6,000 to account for the portions of younger children. By the time of his death in 1854, John Fraunceis had managed to create or oversee principal sum incumbrances amounting to at least £14,000. There are also documents in this section which show how short-term cash was raised, as was the practice in 19th century, by creating mortgages. This series also contains the constabulary journals and personal journals of William Massey Blennerhassett, who married John Fraunceis’ daughter Margaretta Sophia FitzGerald (P1/20-33).

Section C concerns John Fraunceis Eyre FitzGerald, 25th Knight of Glin, the aforementioned ‘Cracked Knight’. The most interesting of the documents related to this section are the mortgages raising money from the Glin lands and reflect the almost ever-present insolvency facing the family (P1/44-50). One in particular from 1864 (P1/48) lists incumbrances on the estate which then totalled £14,000 in principle sums not including the £1539 charge that was being transferred. It would appear, therefore, that incumbrances had risen to approximately £15,500 by the end of The Cracked Knight’s tenure. Also of note are the estate day books which span form 1858-1867 and record the receipt of rents from the estate (P1/51-52).

Series D concerns Desmond John Edmund FitzGerald, 26th Knight of Glin. The documents in this section comprise mainly leases, conveyances and mortgages relating to lands on the Glin estate. Also of interest are the Long Rock fishery records which span from 1866-1890 (P1/144-145). Another document of note is the will of his cousin, Jane Augusta Richardson (P1/148) as a later annotation to the document reads: ‘The beautiful Mrs. Richardson probably mistress of Desmond John Edmund FitzGerald, Knight of Glin’.

Series E relates to Desmond FitzJohn Lloyd FitzGerald, 27th Knight of Glin. The documents in this section contain the usual leases, mortgages and marriage settlements but there is also a small amount of personal correspondence which is of interest, including a letter from his father-in-law, the 4th Earl of Dunraven, in which he declares that if FitzJohn were to hire a woman to look after the young Desmond Windham Otho, ‘she would have to be appallingly old and ugly to save your character’ (P1/303). They also reflect FitzJohn’s interest shooting parties and golf, as many surviving letters written by him to his son, Desmond Windham Otho, while attending boarding school, describe little else (P1/540).

Series F relates to Desmond Windham Otho FitzGerald, 28th Knight of Glin. In addition to leases, conveyances, con-acre agreements and rental accounts (P1/604-638), a large amount of material in this series concerns household and estate accounts with cashbooks and hundreds of tradesmen’s receipts and invoices for various goods and services (P1/639-695). There are also account books for the Long Rock Fishery, which was established in part by the Knight’s grandfather, Desmond John Edmund. The weirs were closed in 1935 when the Government took them over (P1/707-709). The failure of the 28th Knight of Glin’s garage business also features in this series and illustrates clearly the bitter legal wrangle that followed (P1/550-555). More personal items in this series relate to the Knight’s wife, Veronica Villiers. An avid correspondent, the collection is home to many hundreds of letters written her by family members, friends and acquaintances (P1/370-497). There is also much official correspondence with stockbrokers, solicitors, and land agents (P1/354-369). Other interesting items in Veronica’s possession include watercolour sketches (ca. 1850) by her great-aunt, Amelie T. Amherst (P1/504-506), and a small collection of black and white photographs (P1/507-518).

Series G concerns Desmond John Villiers FitzGerald, 29th Knight of Glin. The papers contained in this series include school reports (P1/744, P1/749) and volumes of lecture notes from his time at UBC and Harvard (P1/751-776); leases, undertakings and rentals (P1/777-817); and correspondence concerned with the estate (P1/818-843). There is much in this series devoted to the afore-mentioned refurbishment of the Castle, including correspondence with Horatio Ray Milner (P1/844-852), and plans and drawings of the restoration work (P1/854-878). There are also very interesting documents related to the development of Glin Castle as a guest house (P1/884-948), which show how the estate survived by utilising the tourist trade. Correspondence from these papers reflects the success of Irish tourism enterprises, especially in this case, in attracting the upper end of the American market. Milner also provided money to improve the farm at Glin in order that it become viable and self-sustainable. Correspondence, farm invoices, account books and bank statements are the main document-types in this series (P1/949-1138).