Carlingford papers

The Carlingford Papers consist of correspondence and diplomatic and other papers of the Earls of Carlingford and other members of the Carlingford family. They document, chiefly, Charles II's activities during his years in exile and the mission of Theobald Taaffe, 1st Earl of Carlingford, as Envoy to Emperor Leopold I and the Prince-Bishop of Munster. Various papers of his sons, Nicholas and Francis, also are included in the collection. The Carlingford Papers span the years 1651-1764 but the bulk of the material covers the periods 1657-59 and 1665-67.

Series I, Charles II Letters to Theobald Taaffe, 2nd Viscount Taaffe , contains letters written by the exiled king to Taaffe, his friend and companion, during the period 1655-60. The letters, unsigned but concluded with a cipher, provide a rare insight into Charles' personality.

Series II, Theobald Taaffe Papers , (2nd Viscount Taaffe and 1st Earl of Carlingford) contains letters and diplomatic papers relating to Carlingford's embassy, his correspondence with the Prince-Bishop of Munster and with other English envoys such as Henry Coventry in Stockholm, Sir William Temple in Brussels, Sir William Swan in Hamburg, Lord Sandwich in Madrid and with Lord Arlington, Secretary of State. Other items concern German princes, including Ernst Augustus, Elector of Hanover, and Georg Wilhelm, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg.

Series III, Later Carlingford Papers , contains a letter to Nicholas Taaffe, 3rd Viscount Taaffe and 2nd Earl, from several Irish noblemen concerning his father's death, letters from Francis Taaffe, 3rd Earl of Carlingford, to his father and others describing the political and military situation in Europe, c. 1670-84, and a letter from the King of Portugal to the Emperor of Germany concerning Nicholas, 6th Viscount Taaffe.

Series IV, Curatorial Files, contains supplementary material from the curator's files related to the Carlingford Papers which may be of interest to researchers. These include Timothy Crist's published transcriptions of the letters from Charles II to the Earl of Carlingford, catalogue descriptions of other letters of Charles II, articles concerning the provenance of the Charles II letters to Carlingford by Timothy Crist and Stephen Parks, and other secondary source material related to the Restoration period.