Letters to the Viscountess de Vesci, mother of the sixth earl, to her brother-in-law, the Hon. Geoffrey L. Parsons, and to the agent for the Rosse estates, Toler R. Garvey Junior, (the only person permanently on the spot at Birr during the minority of the sixth earl), concerning the Civil War as it affected Birr Castle and other places; and also including a letter from the Countess of Bandon about the destruction of Castle Bernard, Co. Cork, and the kidnapping of her husband, Lord Bandon, 1921. The principal topic however, is the Free State government’s responsibility to the Rosse family for loss and damage incurred as a result of the Free State army’s occupation of Birr Castle from 1922 to 1924, which the shrewd and resourceful Garvey construes as extending to the cost of Lord and Lady de Vesci’s London house, No. 1 Hyde Park Street. Included in the bundle is a copy of a letter from Garvey to the Irish Land Commission arguing that compulsory acquisition of any more of the home farm at Birr would serve as a major disincentive to the sixth earl’s taking up residence and therefore giving widespread employment there on his coming-of-age, 1926.

Includes quotation for removal of six vans of furniture from Birr Castle to London by John Dooly, & Sons, Birr (April 1923)

Includes list of goods taken over by the National Army 28th September 1923, Property of the Trustees of the Earl of Rosse. Value of £235.16.0

Includes draft claim against Free State Government seeking rent and remedy £3000 and rent of Hyde Park (£600).

Includes letter from Office of Public Works settling claim for £3502.2.11 (7 August 1925)

Includes letter from Captain J.F. Hollins, Quartermaster No 2 Brigade, Athlon to Toler Garvey: ‘I wish to inform you that the Troops presently in occupation of the castle will evacuate same as from the 28th inst. In accordance with our regulations it will be necessary for a representative of the Owner, a representative from the Board of Works and of the Military Authorities to examine the premises after evacuation and compile a report as to its condition in comparison to that in which it was taken over by the Military (12 August 1924)

Includes a list by A. Panton Watkinson, painter and decorator, Stephens Green, Dublin, of wear and tear and damage in Birr Castle due to the military occupation. (July 1923)

Includes list of articles missing from Birr Castle May 1927.

Also includes letter from the Committee involved in arranging a plaque to be erected at the archway to the front of Birr Castle in memory of the three young men executed by Free State Troops in 1923. Appends text of the address given by Margaret Hogan, local historian, on the events of 1923. (2003)

Box of leases of The Green and The Upper Green. [Some of the earliest leases of Cumberland Street (see Q/58) state that it was built on The Green, so it is probable that, as building progressed, leases of The Green change names to leases of sundry streets.] The box also includes papers relating to the sale of properties and fee farm grants in Green Street to the Birr Urban District Council and other purchasers.

Loose pages of notes copied by 'H.D.' on 14 December 1891 'from particulars made out from old Minute Books for Mr. John Wright for his Directory and history of King's County in November 1889".
Lists holders of the following positions in the workhouse for the 50 years between the opening of the workhouse in 1842 and when the notes were compiled in 1889: chairmen; clerks of the union; masters of the workhouse; Protestant chaplains of the workhouse; Roman Catholic chaplains of the workhouse; the first inmate admitted; financial arrangements; furniture suppliers; meeting houses; and medical officers of the workhouse.

Three incomplete volumes recording details of residents admitted to the Parsonstown (Birr) Workhouse, the first of which dating from the opening of the workhouse in April 1842.

Provides details of names of inmates, previous residence, date when admitted or born in workhouse, whether male/female, age, marital status, employment, religion, disability type, and date when discharged or died in workhouse. Volumes from 1842-1843 and 1849-1850 contain index of names.

Fragments of indoor admissions and discharge register of residents admitted to the Parsonstown Workhouse in 1912.

Provides details of date when admitted or born in workhouse, next meal after admission, name, religion, register number, ate when discharged or died in workhouse.

Drawing design for the lowering of Oxmanstown Bridge, drawn by John Hill, Tullamore.

Bye-Laws of the Town of Parsonstown made under the Public Health (Ireland) Act (1884) with respect to common lodging houses, slaughter houses and the keeping of animals.

Two minute books, a lecture record book, and a postage book for the association.

The minute books, dating from 1967 when the group was formed, contain a record of committee meetings held on a monthly basis, until its winding down in 1982 due to dwindling numbers and loss of subscriptions. They detail the finances of the association and plans for annual lecture programmes, including speakers and titles of papers. Also includes newspaper cuttings and some loose correspondence relating to national and international women's issues.

The lecture record book contains details and sometimes a synopsis of each lecture delivered to the association by its invited speakers, and also contains newspaper cuttings describing the lecture and its attendance. This book was also used to record meetings of the National Federation of Business and Professional Women.

The postage book records financial outlay for postage and stationary from 1968-1979.