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Correspondence found within diary.

Newspaper cutting includes a report of a meeting of the National Holiday Committee campaigning for St Patrick’s Day to be made a national holiday. Those reported as present included Kevin J Kenny. Cutting also includes letter received from Archbishop of Dublin, William J Walsh in support of the campaign.

The newspaper cuttings provide a detailed insight into the life and career of Kevin J Kenny in particular, with many articles relating to his involvement in numerous professional, Catholic and charitable organisations.

Most of the newspaper articles were downloaded and printed from the website www.irishnewsarchive.com by Colum Kenny. File also includes photocopies of photographs, publications associated with Kenny’s Advertising Agency and newspaper cuttings.

Personal items and mementoes relating to significant events or causes in Kevin J Kenny’s life.

Undated printed page which reads:

'Personal note from Major-General Aylmer Hunter-Weston, C.B., D.S.O., to each man of the 29th Division on the occasion of their first going into action together. The Major-General Commanding congratulates the division on being selected for an enterprise the success of which will have a decisive effect on the War. The eyes of the world are upon us and your deeds will live in history. To us now is given an opportunity of avenging our friends and relatives who have fallen in France and Flanders. Our comrades there willingly gave their lives in thousands and tens of thousands for our King and Country, and by their glorious courage and dogged tenacity they defeated the invaders and broke the German offensive. We must also be prepared to suffer hardships, privations, thirst, and heavy losses, by bullets, by shells, by mines, by drowning. But if each man feels, as is true, that on him individually, however small or however great his task, rests the success or failure of the expedition, and therefore the honour of the empire and the welfare of his own folk at home, we are certain to win through to a glorious victory. In Nelson’s time it was England, now it is the whole British Empire, which expects each man of us will do his duty. A. H-W.' Major-General Aylmer Hunter-Weston was commander of the British 29th Division on the Gallipoli peninsula in April 1915. 'Keep this and never loose [sic] it' is written in pencil underneath Hunter-Weston's message. Another lightly written and mostly illegible note in pencil is also visible on the reverse of the page.

Michael B Kenny is visible seated second from left wearing the Chairman's chain.

Includes report titled ‘Free Legal Aid Scheme as proposed by Socialist Law Group’ written by Colum Kenny for the Pringle Committee on Legal Aid following a 1974 visit to the USA and Canada to research legal aid there; petition to King’s Inns proposing the change of its motto 'Nolumus Mutari' ('We do not wish to change' or 'We do not wish to be changed'); a rejection by the benchers Standing Committee of this proposal; and printouts and a newspaper cutting relating to a finding by the Competition Authority that the Irish legal profession was in need of reform.

Series relates to three RTÉ television documentaries that Colum Kenny worked on as a researcher and producer. One of the sub-series relates to a documentary titled ‘The Tailor and Ansty’, broadcast in October 1978, and includes numerous letters from Seán Ó Faoláin, Eric Cross, and Nancy McCarthy-Allitt.

The other two sub-series relate to a documentary on the Irish Hospitals’ Sweepstake and a Frontline television programme on the sale of old national schools in the Beara Peninsula respectively. The sub-series on the Irish Hospitals’ Sweepstake is currently closed for access, while part of the sub-series on the Frontline programme is currently closed.

The majority of the letters are addressed to both Colum and Catherine Kenny, while some are only addressed to Colum. All letters are typed and signed, some include handwritten annotations. File also includes copy letters from George Muggeridge (Grace's brother) and Sir Garfield Barwick (friend of George Muggeridge). Watt often mentions that she has included photographs with the letters. Some of these photographs are included in files C2/3/3/6-8, but several are not included in the collection.

21 September 1988 – C2/3/3/1 (1)
Encloses photographs of the Muggeridge family at 1 Herbert Terrace, Herbert Road, Bray, County Wicklow in the 1920s. Also shares photos of her current home in Harrow, London, and of a recent trip to visit her brother George in Australia [photographs not included with letter]. Thanks Colum and Catherine Kenny for their welcome when Grace and her husband Jack (John) visited in the summer of 1988. Related photograph of George Muggeridge is included in this series [see item C2/3/3/6].

28 September 1988 – C2/3/3/1 (2)
Encloses photographs of their visit to 1 Herbert Terrace in 1988 [photographs not included with letter].

9 January 1990 – C2/3/3/1 (3)
Sends Christmas greetings and says: 'Delighted to hear of your recent encounter with Cyril Cusack (known to me as Cyril O'Rourke)' [sic]. Also mentions: 'My beloved brother George passed away on 16th Dec[ember 1989].'

19 September 1990 – C2/3/3/1 (4)
Includes a copy of letter she received from Cyril dated 17 September 1990. Writes to Colum Kenny: 'I had one of the nicest surprises of my life today and it was all due to you!'

5 November 1990 – C2/3/3/1 (5)
Gives details of Bray in the 1920s, family history of 1 Herbert Terrace, and moving back to England in 1926. Says that she is waiting to hear back from Cyril. Asks Colum and Catherine Kenny to confirm her recollections of Michael Collins' funeral.

6 February 1991 – C2/3/3/1 (6)
Thanks Colum and Catherine Kenny for Christmas cards and views of Bray. Mentions her admiration for Cyril and that she is a year younger than him. Encloses her last photograph of 1 Herbert Terrace.

11 December 1991 – C2/3/3/1 (7)
Mentions that she and Cyril have been writing to one another, but that they are struggling to find time to meet. Notes that she is going to be 80 years old in March.

11 January 1992 – C2/3/3/1 (8)
Thanks the Kennys for Christmas card and for informing the Watts about works to 1 Herbert Terrace. Reminisces about travelling abroad for past Christmases.

22 January 1992 – C2/3/3/1 (9)
Mentions that she has been reading Cyril Cusack's book of poetry Between the Acts and Other Poems.

12 August 1992 – C2/3/3/1 (10)
File consists of a letter from Grace to Colum Kenny, and photocopies of two letters between Sir Garfield Barwick and George Muggeridge. Grace's letter discusses her brother George in Australia and how she had previously sent him audio tapes recorded during her and Jack's visit to Ireland in 1988. According to the letter, George and his wife ['Val'] wrote to Val's sister and husband [Sir Garfield Barwick], and Grace encloses copies of their correspondence and notes that she has also sent copies to Cyril. Grace shares reminiscences about 1 Herbert Terrace and of Cyril and George being in the sea scouts as children.

In the letter from Sir Garfield Barwick, he tells George Muggeridge that he enjoyed the audio tape of Grace and John Watt's visit to Ireland very much, and tells George that he never told him why he decided to come to Australia. George writes back and shares details of his personal and family history. Discusses living in Bray briefly and the hardship his family experienced in Ireland: 'They [the Irish people] treated him [George's father] very badly, burnt down his shop and robbed him of equipment'. See also letter dated 20 September 1992 from Cyril Cusack to Grace Watt regarding these letters.

8 October 1992 – C2/3/3/1 (11)
Grace apologies for delay forwarding on Cyril's remarks about Colum Kenny's proposal to write an article on Cyril and Number 1 Herbert Terrace. Passes on Cyril's remarks from a letter to her dated 20 September 1992: 'That's alright, go ahead with whatever you may like to say, whether good or bad but not indifferent.' Notes that Cyril has said that he is going to retire soon and that he plans to write an autobiography.

7 March 1993 – C2/3/3/1 (12)
Thanks Kenny for sending on a draft of his writings on 'The History of Herbert Terrace, Bray' ('one of the loveliest surprises I have ever had'). Mentions that Cyril's wife [Mary Rose Cunningham] telephoned about trying to meet in London in March.

13 March 1993 – C2/3/3/1 (13)
Sends condolences on the deaths of both Colum and Catherines' fathers. Discuss the recession and how it is a challenging time to be raise a family. Grace says she has sent copies of Colum's History of Number 1 Herbert Terrace to her bother George's widow, Val, and to Val's sister [Norma ('Lady Barwick')] and her husband Sir Garfield Barwick.

13 October 1993 – C2/3/3/1 (14)
Thanks Kenny for passing on newspaper cuttings regarding death of Cyril Cusack. Discusses Cyril's health and references to this in his letters, his sense of humour. Grace notes that she got the impression from his letters that he lived alone. Mentions her friendship with her grand-nephew, Jim Hall, and his interest in the family's connection to Ireland.

27 October 1993 – C2/3/3/1 (15)
Discusses Colum Kenny's article in Bray People [published 15 October 1993] about Cyril, Grace and Number 1 Herbert Terrace [this article is included in this series, see file C2/3/3/9]. Discusses her willingness to give Colum the original letters from Cyril: 'I feel most strongly that you are the only person who understands my affection for Cyril.' Says she will add any necessary comments to letters. Discusses Cyril's life, saying it 'seemed to be a little but odd'. Reminisces about activities they got up to in Bray as children and her friendship with 'Mrs Sutton', a Bray resident.

[?18 November 1993] – C2/3/3/1 (16)
Undated letter, but sent on 18 November 1993 according to a handwritten annotation in pen on the first page of the letter [?by Colum Kenny]. Discusses that her husband Jack (John) had a transient stroke; how she hurt her foot while helping him, and their trip to the hospital. Also notes that she has forwarded on the letters and photographs she received from Cyril to Colum Kenny. Also included is the envelope in which the letters were originally contained.

7 January 1994 – C2/3/3/1 (17)
Two letters. Notes that the other letter of the same date gives him 'permission to donate Cusack correspondence to library' [?National Library of Ireland]. Also includes discussion of her getting a word processor; Colum's mother being unwell; Jack's transient stroke, and thanks Colum for forwarding on articles about Cyril. The second letter in the file details the transfer of ownership to Kenny of the letters Grace received from Cyril.

28 August 1994 – C2/3/3/1 (18)
Encloses photographs of Jack (John) and herself. Mentions that Jack recently turned 80 years of age; discusses his birthday celebrations; her grandnephew Jim Hall's travels in Malaysia and Indonesia, and their correspondence with one another.

This sub-fonds relates to the professional and personal aspects of Kevin J Kenny’s life. The majority of the series concern Kevin’s professional life, specifically his work as an advertising agent and commercial manager with his company, Kenny’s Advertising Agency.

Series mainly relates to the early part of Kevin J Kenny's career as managing director of Kenny's Advertising Agency, with numerous letters from clients relating to advertisements in various newspapers and publications. Several of these clients were leading figures of nationalist movements of the day, such as Patrick Pearse, Francis Sheehy-Skeffington, Arthur Griffith, and James Creed Meredith, and later, representatives of the Second Dáil. The series (and its constituent sub-series) reflect the dramatic changes that were taking place in the Irish political landscape, with various parties from across the political and social spectrum seeking Kenny’s services in his capacity as a commercial manager. Thus, the series includes letters and notices from the aforementioned leading nationalists among others, but also British establishment figures and offices of government, such as the Admiralty, War Office and Press Committee in London.

Periodical described as a 'pan-Celtic monthly magazine’.

Undated note from Roger Casement to 'The Manager, The Nationist, 53 Middle Abbey Street, Dublin'. Note reads: 'Dear Sir, I should be obliged if you would now send my copy of The Nationist to the Quay, Ballycastle, Antrim, instead of to the English address hitherto given. Yours faithfully, Roger Casement.'

The note is handwritten on headed paper from Exchange Station Hotel (Lanc & York Rly), Liverpool [the address is scored out]. The Nationist, edited by Tom Kettle, was a weekly newspaper that appeared in 1905 and 1906. Kenny was the business manager of the newspaper.

Hitler's Irish Voices is an audio documentary, created and produced by Dr. David O'Donoghue. It was first broadcast on Radio Kerry on 26 October 1998 and includes interviews about the pro-German propaganda radio service, Irland Redaktion, which broadcast from Germany during the Second World War, from 10 December 1939 until 2 May 1945. This documentary includes recordings of interviews with Francis Stuart, Hans Hartmann, Elizabeth Clissman, Hugh Byrne, Seán Ó hEochaidh, Maurice Irvine, and Ludwig Mühlhausen.

Running time:

00:00-01:00 Introduction

01:00-01:47 William Brook Joyce's [Lord Haw-Haw] introduces 'our Sunday night service in Gaelic' for Irish listeners.

02:06-02:39 German radio talk in Irish (voiced by Eimear Ó Broin)

05:54-08:22 Hugh Byrne, Donegal fisherman, talks about German academic Ludwig Mühlhausen who studied Irish from 1927 to 1937

09:18-11:30 Seán Ó hEochaidh, Donegal folklorist, who taught Ludwig Muhlhausen Irish, describes a Garda Síochána dawn raid on his home in Teelin, Donegal, after Mühlhausen sent Christmas radio greetings to him on air in December 1939.

17:40-19:55 Dr Hans Hartmann explaining the importance of Irish neutrality for Germany's war aims. Includes discussion on his Irish phrases.

21:02-22:14 German Radio's Flashback feature on historic acts of British terrorism in Ireland during the War of Independence, 1919-1921.

22:29-23:16 Maurice Irvine, BBC wartime monitor, describing the radio output from Berlin, Germany.

28:45-30:36 Francis Stuart talks about Dr Hans Hartmann sacking him from the Irland Redaktion in January 1944, because he refused to do anti-Russian talks.

30:42-32:01 Francis Stuart's regrets, 'I was too close to a brutal and barbarian regime'.

32:14-33:22 German Radio's anti-semitic material broadcast to Ireland (voiced up by actors).

35:12-36.57 Elizabeth Clissmann, Sligo, on German Radio's plan to stop Franklin Roosevelt's presidential re-election in 1944.

40:18-42:26 William Brook Joyce's [Lord Haw-Haw] final broadcast on 30 April 1945.

42:48-43.41 Dr Hans Hartmann describes his final broadcast to Ireland on 2 May 1945.

Production information
David O'Donoghue is the creator, scriptwriter and narrator of this audio documentary. Fred Meijer was technical director.

Consists of handwritten and typed diary entries relating to Lester's time as High Commissioner of the League of Nations in Danzig. Consists of handwritten and typed diary entries relating to Lester's time as High Commissioner of the League of Nations in Danzig. Includes reference to Konni Zilliacus (1894-1967), Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (1861-1930), Arthur Henderson, (1863-1935), George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), Sir Roger Casement (1864-1916), Carl Joachim Hambro (1885-1964), SirAnthony Eden (1897-1977), Henri Le Rond (1864-1949), Charles Gates Dawes (1865-1951), Arthur Sweetser (1888-1968).

Telegram from Bishop Edward O'Rourke, Catholic Bishop of Danzig, to Lester with best wishes for St Patrick's Day.

Typescript extract from note concerning [Józef] Beck and [Hans-Adolf von] Moltke.

Mainly concerns the production of various radio and television documentaries, but also includes correspondence between Colum and a range of figures and organisations on topics such as revisionism in Irish historiography, the inclusion of Ireland under the designation ‘British Isles’ during SKY News television broadcasts and Channel 4's attitude to Ireland and the reporting of Irish affairs.

File includes one letter from Kenny to O’Faoláin, and two letters from O’Faoláin to Kenny concerning the documentary and other topics. Kenny’s asks O’Faoláin in his letter dated 28 August 1978 if will agree to be interviewed for the documentary, to which O’Faoláin agrees by returning Kenny’s original letter with annotations answering several of Kenny’s questions and dating his reply 29 August 1978. The second letter from O’Faoláin [?from September 1978] is titled ‘CENSORSHIP’ and appears to have been written following the recording of their interview, with O'Faoláin elaborating on some of the points he made about censorship in Ireland during the 1930s and 1940s, and expresses an admiration for Marina Warner’s book Alone of All Her Sex.

File also includes an [Irish Times] newspaper cutting from [25 February] 1993 of a letter to the editor by Maurice Harmon in which he notes that he is ‘writing the life’ of O’Faoláin and ‘would like to hear from anyone who may have information, or recollections that may be helpful.’ It is possible that Kenny contacted Harmon about his own correspondence with O’Faoláin.

Includes transcript of the Frontline television programme originally broadcast on 1 February 1980; a copy of the Broadcasting Complaints Commission’s decision regarding the complaint made by Father Clifford; copy of letter sent by Colum Kenny to the Cork Examiner in May 1981 requesting that the newspaper publish the Commission’s decision; newspaper cuttings; some research notes written by Colum Kenny [?for the programme]; copy of letter dated 11 January 1980 from Father Clifford to parishioners in the Beara Peninsula condemning the article published in the Berehaven News about the affair; press release from Berehaven News in response to Father Clifford’s letter; Berehaven News, Vol. 1, No. 3, (1979), featuring the original article, and reference material relating to the Broadcasting Authority (Amendment) Act, 1976.

Correspondence mainly relating to Kevin J Kenny’s work as an advertising agency and commercial manager for Kenny’s Advertising Agency and other publications.

Handwritten and typed diary entries relating to Lester's time as Acting Secretary General of the League of Nations in Geneva. Includes numerous diary entries and correspondence concerning Lester's threat to resign his position in June 1941 following his discovery that his name was apparently on a British secret service 'watch list'.

Diary includes correspondence with Seán T Ó Ceallaigh [Sean T O'Kelly], Minister for Finance; James John McElligott, Secretary of the Department of Finance; James Dillon, TD (letter from Lester was unsent); Seymour Jacklin, Treasurer of the League of Nations; Carl Hambro, Head of the Supervisory Commission of the League of Nations; Hugh McKinnon Wood, Counsellor and Legal Adviser at the League of Nations; Arthur Sweetser, League of Nations' Public Information Section; Frank P Walters, Deputy Secretary General of the League of Nations; Roger Makins, British Foreign Office; Anthony Eden, British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; Alexander Cadogan, British Permanent Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs; David V Kelly, British Legation in Berne, Switzerland; Harry Livingston, British Consulate in Geneva; Lord Davies [David Davies, 1st Baron Davies]; Robert Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood; Robert Collis, doctor and author; Frank T Cremins, Irish Legation in Berne, Switzerland; Ernst Grunwald ('[an] Austrian textile trader, who was in a civilian camp in Switzerland with his wife and obtained visas thanks to S. Lester's help', according to the finding aid for the Sean Lester collection in the United Nations Archives, Geneva. See reference: PP 274/2/871-873); Gretta Lester, Seán Lester's sister, and Frank Lidgett McDougall, Australia House, London. Also includes several Christmas cards and business cards from various diplomats, dignitaries and friends.

Typed copy of statement. The statement was circulated in a pamphlet after the Rising and was denounced by the authorities as a fake. It would appear from MacDonagh's court martial file that he did not give such a statement.

Consists of printouts and photocopies of a book extract and a newspaper cutting. The obituaries are from The Independent on Sunday and The Irish Times.

This diary is blank apart from a handwritten note on the very last page ['Rev. Fr. Victor Dillard, French Jesuit, economist, ed. "Cité Nouvelle". Visit Sept. 1942'] and the inclusion of a business card for Monseigneur Henri Petit, Prélat de sa Sainteté, Vicaire Général, Geneva, with a handwritten note in French on it.

Includes issues published on 14 October 1916 (volume 1, number 17) and 19 May 1917 (volume 1, number 48). Issue number 17 features an article about the lack of rebuilding taking place in Dublin city centre following the 1916 Easter Rising, and includes a sardonic reference to the rebuilding of the Kenny's Advertising Agency building, suggesting this is related to 'big cheques' from the 'profitable business' of 'Recruitment in Ireland'. See sub-series 'Recruitment Controversy for further context about this topic. Issue number 48 includes the banner: 'Organ of the Repeal League and Independence Association'. Price: one penny.

Includes the names and addresses of several of the individuals discussed by Lester in the diaries and those he was in correspondence with during the period.

Leaflet reads as follows: 'Lá na Marbh, 1916, All Souls’ Day, 1916. Your prayers are earnestly requested for the repose of the souls of the following Irishmen who were executed by Military Law this year: [includes list of 16 names] Also for the repose of the souls of the following men who were killed whilst fighting for Ireland, during Easter Week, 1916: [includes list of 52 names] Go nDeinidh dia trocaire ar a nAnamaibh'.

Fragile single-sided printed page, possibly from a newspaper or pamphlet. Document details the declaration presented to the USA Government on behalf of the Irish Republic by Dr Patrick McCartan in July 1917. Includes the complete declaration signed by Irish nationalist leaders such as 'Edward de Valera' [sic], Eóin MacNéill and 'Des Fitzgerald', and a 'note' by McCartan addressed to the President and Congress of the United States. Also includes an '[e]xtract from the trial of A. Stack' [?Austin Stack].

McCartan would go on to serve as the Irish Provisional Government envoy to the USA, 1918-1920. Charles Tansill writes in America and the Fight for Irish Freedom 1866-1922: An Old Story Based Upon New Data (New York: Devin-Adair Company, 1957) that the signatories of the declaration had been released from prison (following their part in the Easter Rising) on 18 June 1917 as a gesture of good will to American public opinion. Tansill notes that the statement was written by MacNéill upon their release and taken by Patrick McCartan to the USA, where it was presented at the White House on 23 July 1917.

Fearing that the Germans would invade Switzerland during the Second World War, Lester buried his diaries in this metal case next to a bench in the Palais des Nations in Geneva. This is likely why the diary entries stop in 1942.

Mid-Week Pictorial was an illustrated weekly newspaper supplement published by The New York Times. Includes a full-page photograph of Arthur Griffith on the front cover, describing him as the 'Head of the Irish Free State'. Inside is a one-page feature about Ireland including photographs of five government ministers: George Gavan Duffy, Richard Mulcahy, Michael Collins, Eamon J Duggan, WT Cosgrave.

Colum Kenny purchased this journal from a bookshop in the USA in March 2010, through www.abebooks.com. File includes the relevant section of Colum Kenny’s original finding aid for the collection that notes that Mid-Week Pictorial was purchased from www.abebooks.com, the shipping manifest for the item, and the address of the bookshop that the newspaper was purchased from.

File includes: two reduced single-sheet-formatted versions of the Freeman’s Journal from 30 and 31 March 1922, and a four-page single-sided-sheet version of the Evening Telegraph (Dublin) from 1 April 1922. The Anti-Treaty IRA destroyed the printing presses of both newspapers in March 1922.

Stencil copy of typed single page. Lists conditions upon which a cessation of hostilities may occur. One of the conditions includes the '[d]eclaration of [Éamon] De Valera and [WT] Cosgrove [sic] that unless requested by two-thirds of new Parliament neither will accept office of head of State.'

Two issues of the literary magazine edited by Henry Francis Montgomery Stuart and Cecil Salkeld featuring contributions from Irish poets, writers and artists including WB Yeats, Lennox Robinson and Liam O’Flaherty. Volume 1, number 1 from August 1924 includes: ‘The Madonna of Slieve Dun’ by Lennox Robinson; ‘A Red Petticoat’ by Liam O’Flaherty; ‘Leda and the Swan’ by WB Yeats; ‘The Japanese Pine’ and ‘Just Now’ by Charlotte Arthur; ‘Be a Trembling Petal’ by Henry Francis Montgomery Stuart; ‘“As I was Among the Captives”’ by Joseph Campbell; ‘The Principles of Painting’ (with illustration) by Cecil Salkeld; an editorial by Henry Francis Montgomery Stuart and Cecil Salkeld; ‘Sonnet’ by OF Fleck; ‘Why we Live’ by ‘“Sachka”’; ‘A Primitive’ by LK Emery; Colour by Margaret Barrington, and ‘Alba’ by RND Wilson.

Volume 1, number 2 from September 1924 includes: ‘Honore Dumier’ by Arthur Symons; ‘The Garden’ by ‘Sachka’; ‘Marriage Song’ and an untitled poem by Blanaid Salkeld; ‘Wet Loveliness’ and ‘The Horse-Breaker’ by FR Higgins; ‘Two Poems’ [‘An Etching’ and ‘Gifts’] by Charlotte Arthur; ‘An P’ [in the German language] by OJ Fleck; ‘The Sea’ by RND Wilson; ‘In the Hour before Dawn’ by Henry Francis Montgomery Stuart; ‘The Popular Road’ by Iseult Stuart; ‘The Principles of Painting’ [continued from volume 1, number 1] (and illustration) by Cecil Salkeld, and ‘The Tendencies of the Younger Irish Poetry’ by LK Emery.

The address of the journal publisher is given as 13 Fleet Street, Dublin in volume 1, number 1 and is given as Roebuck House, Clonskeagh, Dublin in volume 1, number 2. Price of the journal is six pence.

The last page of the programme is torn. It is possible that Kevin J Kenny was involved in the organisation of Dublin Civic Week in 1927.

Form relates to the importation of a '[s]tandard 10 h.p. de luxe saloon [?motor car] by John G McEntagart, Director and Secretary, McEntagart Brothers Limited’. Some of the entries in the form are filled in with typed and handwritten text.

It is likely that this car was purchased by Kevin J Kenny from McEntagart Brothers Limited.

Sub-fonds consists of a few items relating to Michael B Kenny’s career in advertising. These include a brief history of the Kenny’s Advertising Agency written by Michael, and two photographs: one of the Council of the Advertising/Press Club in 1956 or 1957, and the other of the Kenny’s Advertising Agency premises at Lower Baggot Street, Dublin. Sub-fonds also includes a short biography of Michael [?written by his son Colum Kenny].

Mainly consists of correspondence between Kenny and a number of individuals involved in a documentary researched and presented by Colum Kenny for RTÉ television about 'The Tailor and Ansty’ (husband and wife Timothy [‘the Tailor’] and Anastasia ['Ansty'] Buckley). The Tailor and Ansty were the subjects of a book by Eric Cross about their storytelling and home in Gougane Barra, County Cork, which became a hub for notable figures of the Cork arts scene in the 1930s and 1940s such as writers Frank O'Connor and Seán Ó Faoláin, sculptor Seamus Murphy, students of the Irish language, and folklorists. The book was published in 1942 and banned soon after. The RTÉ documentary included interviews with Cross, Ó Faoláin, and the Tailor and Ansty's close friend Nancy McCarthy-Allitt, and recounted the aftermath of the banning; including an episode when the Tailor was forced by three priests to burn a copy of the Eric Cross book in his fireplace. The documentary also included dramatised accounts of debates which took place in Seanad Éireann in December 1942 following the banning of the book. The RTÉ documentary was broadcast on 31 October 1978.

File consists of seven letters (dated 16 July 1978; 20 August 1978; 16 September [1978]; 1 October 1978; 7 November 1978; 18 December 1978; and 1 May 1980). McCarthy-Allitt was interviewed by Kenny for the documentary in 1978 and the letters concern her memories of her close friends Timothy (‘the Tailor’) and Anastasia ('Ansty') Buckley, arrangements for the interview, her praise for the finished documentary and Kenny's professionalism, and reaction to the documentary from customers in her chemist shop in Douglas, Cork. Other notable friends of McCarthy-Allitt mentioned in the letters include Seán O’Faoláin, Frank O’Connor and Seamus Murphy. File also includes a poem by O’Connor, 'In Memory of Timothy Buckley "The Tailor"', in McCarthy-Allitt's handwriting.

Some of the corresponding letters from Colum Kenny to McCarthy-Allitt are available in the Nancy McCarthy Collection, Archives Service, UCC Library, University College Cork.

Consists of two sub-series. The first relates to personal mementoes such as newspaper cuttings, cards and photographs relating to various events in Kevin J Kenny’s life. The second sub-series relates to the Battle of Gallipoli and includes British Army transcribed signals from the front. These signals may have been written by John Murphy, Annette Kenny’s (née Murphy) brother and Kevin J Kenny’s brother-in-law.

Newman replies to a letter from Kenny, which had included a copy of a book by Alan Watts [according to Colum Kenny, the book was most likely Cloud-Hidden, Whereabouts Unknown: A Mountain Journal (1974). Kenny sent Newman the letter and book in response to some reported comments made by Newman. The letter from Newman discusses Catholic attitudes to sex and warns Kenny about Alan Watts' writings on religion: 'I would like to warn you against getting too involved in that kind of literature'. According to Colum Kenny, Bishop Newman spoke about contraception and the relationship between church and state in an RTÉ interview broadcast on 30 March 1976.

Two typed and signed letters from Cusack to Kenny dated 17 September and 4 October 1990. Cusack writes from London where he is acting [in a production of Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters at the Royal Court Theatre] and thanks Kenny for passing on a letter from Grace Watt (née Muggeridge), and for Kenny’s invitation to visit his house in Bray (1 Herbert Terrace). The Muggeridge family had lived in the house in the 1920s, and Cusack and his mother had lived with them for two to three years around 1922. Cusack discusses his recent attempt at writing an autobiography and remembers Grace and the Muggeridge family fondly.

The original finding aid arranges the collection into three parts focussing on Kevin J Kenny, Michael B Kenny and Colum Kenny respectively, as with this present finding aid. The arrangement of the sub-series and descriptions differ mostly, but some have been maintained.

Letters, newspaper cuttings and published material relating to the granting of a contract to publish army recruitment advertisements to Kenny’s Advertising Agency on behalf of the British government. This episode appears to have caused a significant amount of discussion and controversy in various newspapers and publications of the day, and was also discussed by Laurence Ginnell MP during a debate in the British House of Commons.

Sub-series consists of printed personal note from Major-General Aylmer Hunter-Weston, British Army transcribed signals from the first day of Battle of Gallipoli, and correspondence between the Imperial War Museum and Colum Kenny regarding the transcribed signals and recruitment advertisements (see sub-series C2/1/1/2). Some of the signals are signed 'J Murphy' who Colum Kenny suggested may have been Jack (John) Murphy, brother of Annette Kenny (née Murphy), Kevin J Kenny's wife. This could possibly explain how the signals came to form part of the collection.