The Courtney Collection

The bulk of the collection consists letters written home from France, Greece and Malta by Henry Gother Courtney during the First World War. Other papers within the collection include a copy book of David Courtney, 1785-1803; notebook and diary records of Henry Courtney, 1828-1860; and copy letter books and journals of Henry Nicholas Courtney, 1874-1878.

Courtney family of Ireland. The following members of the family are represented in the collection:

David Courtney (fl 1785-1803) of Dublin.

General Inspector of the Barracks in Ireland Henry Courtney of Dublin (d c 1870) who was the grandfather of the donor, Dame Kathleen Courtney.

Henry Nicholas Courtney of Dublin (d 1879), who was the uncle of the donor. He died in Jamaica in Jan 1879.

Henry Gother Courtney, son of Major D.C. Courtney of Nullamore, Milltown, Co. Dublin and Alice Margaret Mann. He had five sisters: Kathleen (who became Dame Kathleen D'Olier Courtney (1878-1974) philanthropist), Sydney, Dorothy, Rose and Linda. During the First World War, Henry served as an ambulance driver with the Red Cross in France and then as an Orderly Officer in the Royal Garrison Artillery with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force in Greece. During the war, Courtney's mother lived in Winchester, Hampshire although his correspondence to her there make reference to the family estate in Ireland.

Reference: Mainly the collection with some information supplied by the family.

The collection is arranged in four series: Papers of David Courtney of Dublin (fl 1785-1803); Papers of Henry Courtney of Dublin (d c 1870); Papers of Henry Nicholas Courtney of Dublin (d 1879); Letters of Henry Gother Courtney.

Open. Access to all registered researchers.

The Courtney collection was presented to the University Library by Dame Kathleen Courtney in 1963.

Please see full catalogue for further details.

Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Director of Special Collections. Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Special Collections will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material