O’Flynn Exham Solicitors

Identity Statement

Content & Structure

• Scope & Content: O’Flynn Exham Solicitors ↴

  Solicitors papers including various types of deeds including leases, mortgages, marriage settlements and wills, correspondence with clients, correspondence on behalf of clients, case documents, court documents, financial documents, and legal minutae, plus some personal correspondence. Covers a very large number of solicitors, families, clients and estates including, for example, Coppinger, French, Earl of Listowel, Lord Shannon, Jephson, and Lord Cork.

  In terms of geographical coverage, the majority of the collection relates to Cork city and county, however a substantial number of items are also related to estates and property in many other parts of Ireland including for instance Kerry, Waterford, Tipperary, Limerick and Dublin.

  The earliest item in the collection is a 1356 deed relating to the grant of a mill and water in the city of Waterford from the Mayor, burghers and bailiffs to William Goer (U229/99/2). Also found are 4 items from the 1400’s relating to property in Cork, Clonmel and Waterford, including a 1474 Enfeoffment of property next to the mill in the burgage of Shandon in Cork city (U229/101/2 ; see also 101/1, 101/3 and 83/1).

  From the 1500’s are 26 items, mainly relating to Waterford city and county, including a 1579 mortgage of a cellar in Waterford City from George Sherlock FitzEdward, merchant unto John Lea FitzNicholas, merchant (U229/17/2 ; see also U229/17/2, /66, /68, /83, /99 and /101).

  The collection contains about 115 documents dating from the 17th century, including a number relating to the Jephson family of Mallow (U229/5 etc. ); and including a 1639 Charles I deed granting certain lands and castles to John and James Roche (U229/51/20). A small number of items from this period also relate to the estate of Sir William Penn in Cork (see U229/143/1 etc.)

  The collection contains about 795 items dating from the 18th century, including a Cork Grand Jury document from 1708-13 concerning overseers for bridges in Co. Cork, of special interest due to the almost complete loss of the records for both the county and the city of Cork Grand Juries (U229/3/2). From this period are a large number of leases such as a 1776 lease by John Bass, merchant to Benson Lawton, merchant, of a house on Morrison’s Island, Cork, for 500 years at £25 p.a. (U229/2/19). A large number of items from this period also mention the names French, Newman, Towgood, Coppinger, and Hare.

  The majority of the collection, comprising over 4,600 items (including over 550 leases) dates from the 19th century; including, for example, 101 items from 1800-1809, 177 from 1810-1819, 198 from the 1820s, 252 from the 1830s, 390 items from the 1840s, 787 from the 1850s, 879 from the 1860s, 923 from the 1870s, 522 from the 1880s, and 480 from the 1890s. At least 100 items directly relate to ejectments/evictions from property. A sizeable portion of the items from this century (over 1400 items) relate in some way to the Coppingers, including solicitors of the same name, including a good deal of correspondence, mainly legal and financial in nature, but also including a small number of more personal items such as an 1877 letter from [W.R.] Coppinger as Treasurer of the Society for the Propagation of the Roman Catholic Faith, concerning a legacy. (U229/4/14/11).

  Approximately 600 items date from the early 20th century, mainly from the 1900-1920 period including several items relating to the sale of land and the Irish Land Commission (U229/41 etc.).

  Of particular interest to the study of legal history and the history of landed estates, as well as family history and genealogy.

• Appraisal Destruction ↴

  Permanent Retention

• Accruals ↴

  Not expected

• Arrangement ↴

  Item list only. Items are listed by container.

Conditions of Access & Use

Allied Materials

There are no Allied Materials

Descriptive Control Area