The National Library of Ireland has acquired a substantial archive of papers relating to the Leslie family of Co Monaghan.
The collection, which spans more than three centuries and runs to 120 boxes containing some 15,000-20,000 documents, was bought for a six-figure sum. The National Library already held some material from the same family, having first acquired a section of the archive in 1952. In the 1970s, another portion was sold to the institution for £400.
According to the National Library's director Mr Brendan O'Donoghue, "the strength of the collection is that it offers a continuous block of material; not just estate papers, but an unusually strong sprinkling of political, literary and cultural material as well. Our challenge now is to get it all listed, sorted and catalogued".
The Leslies have lived at Glaslough, Co Monaghan, since 1665, when the Bishop of Raphoe, John Leslie, bought a castle and estate there. In the late 19th century the family's holdings in Monaghan and surrounding counties ran to 44,000 acres and a large section of the archive is devoted to the management of this property.
However, the Leslies were also involved in Irish political life with three successive patriarchs called Charles Powell Leslie serving as MPs for Monaghan between the mid-18th and mid-19th centuries. In 1878 the first baronet, Sir John Leslie, a noted artist and collector, built a new house, Castle Leslie, which still stands and is run as a hotel by the present generation of the family.
Sir John's son, who bore the same name as his father, married an American called Leonie Leslie and the archive includes copies of correspondence from her young nephew, Winston Churchill.
It also contains original letters from Daniel O'Connell and Charles Stewart Parnell.
In addition, there is a diary that was kept by Sir John when accompanying Queen Victoria's son, the Duke of Connaught, to India as well as a first World War diary written by Sir John's son Norman and retrieved from the battlefield where he was killed. Among more recent generations of Leslies were the writers Sir Shane and his daughter Anita, both of whom are also represented in the archive.
In Monaghan yesterday Ms Samantha Leslie, who now lives in the family home, said the papers had been sold in order to help pay for a £500,000 restoration of the main building.
Last May 300 items from Castle Leslie were auctioned in Dublin raising in the region of £400,000 but Ms Leslie said most of this money was needed to settle family trusts and other concerns.