“Utterly breathtaking” historical documents dating as far back as 1695 may have been lost forever if not for a man who rescued the collection 30 years ago from a skip.
NOTE: According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a “skip” is a commn word in Ireland and Great Britain meaning “a large metal container into which people put unwanted objects or building or garden waste, and which is brought to and taken away from a place by a special truck when people ask for it.”
Limerick historian Dr Paul O’Brien said he is “blown away” by the discovery of the archive spanning most of Munster that he believes will “tell the story of land ownership in Ireland.”
The Mary Immaculate College lecturer said he’s running out of words to describe its “phenomenal” sheer volume and geographical range.
“It covers huge swathes of land up the country and just gives a lot of agency to tenant farmers and tenant voices that aren’t generally covered out there,” he said.
A man found the documents about 30 years ago in a skip outside a house in Limerick but only managed to save 20%, or 28 boxes, out of the collection due to the sheer volume.
You can read more in an article by Jack White published in the Irish Examiner web site at: https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41073983.html .