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This collection is a comprehensive record of the life and work of Maurice Walsh, a figure who has a distinctive place in Irish literary history. At its core are multiple working drafts of his fourteen novels, five short story collections and other works which provide a window into Walsh’s creative process and the evolution of his narratives. They also highlight the breadth and versatility of Walsh’s literary output which extended from novels and short stories to plays, poetry and journalism. Of particular interest are drafts of his perhaps best-known novel, Blackcock’s Feather (P7/2/1/3/1-7), his short story ‘The Quiet Man’ (P7/2/2/1/3/1-5), later made into an Oscar-winning film directed by John Wayne, and the collection of short stories featuring the immortal character of Thomasheen James (P7/2/2/2/1-11).

The Maurice Walsh Papers also feature the author’s extensive correspondence with literary agents, publishers, broadcasting companies and film producers which provides interesting insights into the life of a professional writer. It reveals among other things the controversy concerning the sale of the film rights which proceeded the production of Trouble into Glen, Walsh’s only novel successfully adapted for film (see P7/1/3/1/2 and P7/1/3/2/1). The dispute, which involved Walsh’s American literary agents, Brandt and Brandt of New York, and his principal publishers on this side of the Atlantic, Chambers, resulted in his refusal to assist in the making of the film and soured his view of the movie business for life. Another interesting set of correspondence dates from 1940, when Walsh made a significant foray into politics by collaborating with Seán O’Faoláin in the writing of an article entitled ‘Ireland in a Warring Europe’. Published in The Saturday Evening Post, the article was a defence of Irish neutrality and generated much reaction. The surviving letters from Joseph Connolly, the censor, indicate the extent to which he tried to avoid undue alterations to the text and the keenness of the authorities that the piece should appear in print (P7/1/2/4/1-4).

The volume of correspondence includes much evidence of Walsh’s popularity. The royalty statements from his publishers and agents tangibly prove his success as a writer, and the letters from admirers (P7/1/2/3/3/1-7) give his audience a human face. One of the more unusual expressions of his fame was the establishment of ‘The Ancient and Honorable Society of Walshians’ in Montana in 1933 (P7/1/2/3/2/1-5).

With the exception of some official documents and a small number of photographs, the collection contains little in relation to Maurice Walsh’s personal life. The best insight into this aspect can be found in a short autobiographical note published in an unidentified work (see P7/2/7/5/5), which also shows Walsh’s gentle but brimming humour. Described by his friends as ‘quiet, easy-going, lazy-seeming’, Walsh’s reticence made him, perhaps, the true embodiment of ‘The Quiet Man’.

Photographs, certificates, contracts and correspondence illustrating Barbara Clarke's development from a child dance enthusiast to an accomplished amateur dancer and her contribution to the development of dance as a popular art form in Ireland in the mid-twentieth century.

Posters, flyers, programmes, press cuttings, photographs and ephemera collected by Frances Buchanan née O’Hara mainly reflecting her times in Patricia Mulholland’s Irish Ballet.

This small collection contains routine correspondence and accounts created and generated by Maxwell, Weldon & Co. on behalf of their clients, mainly pertaining to probate, death duties and other testamentary matters.

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 material consists of leases, mortgages, conveyances, marriage settlements and wills relating to the families of Odell (1782-1891), Morony (1831-1937), Lloyd (1829-1965) and Allott (1947-1999). Of particular interest is the copy will relating to Helen Sophia Chenevix (1890-1963), General Secretary of the Irish Women Workers’ Union (1955-1957), member of the Irish Trade Union Congress executive committee (1946-1956), and one of the first female graduates of Trinity College, Dublin (see P27/1/4/1/3/1). There are also extensive records relating to the dairy farm managed at Odellville from 1945 to 1994, including stock breeding and sales records, milk records and farm accounts (P27/2/1/2-6). There is some architectural material relating to improvements carried out at Odellville between 1880 and 1900 (P27/1/2/7/1-3). There are also 19th-century scrapbooks and other items of Quaker interest relating to the Watson and Webb families (P27/3/1/1-4).

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.

The collection comprises approximately 250,000 photographic items, including press cuttings, reports, brochures spanning over five decades. Of particular significance are the photographs taken between 1959–1998, which visually capture the Shannon Development story, and provide unique insights into the life in Ireland in the latter half of the twentieth century. It chronicles the evolution of Shannon town, as well as the broader Shannon region from a large agricultural base to a leading industrial and tourism centre. There is also material relating to the wider Clare Region, Limerick, Tipperary, Offaly, and Kerry.
The photographs include images of the many people of renown that passed through Shannon Airport, coverage of the world’s first duty free zone and images of newly acquired aircraft. The early construction days of Shannon Town and people at work in associated industrial settings are also captured. There are many photos of events at Bunratty Castle, Knappogue Castle, Dromoland Castle, Cragaunowen and the Cliffs of Moher, which provide a valuable insight into the development of new tourist attractions in the region during the 1960s.
Besides offering a visual account of the development of the airport and its environs, the collection offers unique opportunities to consider a range of topics including life, culture, dress, and some of the social norms of Ireland in the latter half of the twentieth century.

The collection items consist of seals, reproductions of portraits and transcripts of documents relating to the De Laval and Willis families, providing in snapshot detail the fate of a high-ranking Huguenot family forced into exile, their efforts to create a new life in a foreign country, and the lives of their descendants.