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.

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).