Libraries of former Minister and his poet wife set to go under the hammer in Birr

A Birr-based auction house will handle what described as a “highly important sale” of the libraries of the former Minister, diplomat and writer Conor Cruise O'Brien, and his late wife, the acclaimed poet and Irish scholar Máire Mhac an tSaoi, later this month.

The auction, taking place on April 27 next, involves over 600 lots of books, correspondence and papers from their extensive libraries, including some letters written by Máire's father Sean MacEntee, a former Tanaiste and Fianna Fáil Minister from the late 1950s to the end of 1960s.

The sale includes many signed books by and about Conor Cruise O'Brien, who died in 2008, and his life as a diplomat along with his archive and working papers.

One particularly eye-catching lot is material from the archives of Conor Cruise O'Brien, described as an extensive collection of research material, notes and correspondence in three boxes with a price estimate of €1,000 to €2,000.

There are also numerous signed books by Máire Mhac an tSaoi, who only died last year, and books dedicated to her, along with her archive and working papers. In addition, there is a large collection of original photographs.

The vast majority of the lots are books, both older, and modern, on a variety of subjects from Irish nationalism, Irish poetry, the history of the French revolution, Ely O'Carroll to the Annals of Ulster and collections of books by the husband and wife team, both of whom were both prolific authors in their lifetime.

Also of interest is Conor Cruise O'Brien papers, dealing with his career, political life, originally published in 1993, and an extensive collection of letters from Seán, Margaret and Máire McEntee & P Browne to a family friend Letty/Lettie/Dr Fairfield in London from the 1930s to 1950s. It includes a letter from Seán McEntee, father of Máire, and former Tanaiste and government Minister, in which he discusses Hitler and the Sudeten issue.

The auction takes place in person and online from 10am on Wednesday, April 27 next. For more information or to view a catalogue, go to purcellauctioneers.ie, call 0579120270 or email: info@purcellauctioneers.ie