Dublin (Ireland). Custom House, 1940

Most of the correspondents in this sub-subseries resided or did business in County Donegal, and thereby suggest the surrounding community and its interactions with Glenveagh, McIlhenny's country estate in the northwest of Ireland. With many written during the early 1940s, their letters give voice to the ways of life necessitated by war. Many are letters of thanks to McIlhenny for sending items from America that were rationed or in short supply in Europe, particularly tea, as well as clothing, and occasionally money. McIlhenny appears to have donated regularly to many of the churches in the county, and corresponded with a number of the clergy, who kept him abreast of current local affairs. In particular are the letters of Fr. John Finnegan who apparently kept a close eye on Glenveagh, and would give brief reports on the conditions of the castle, the deer, and his conversations with some of the staff. Regarding the letter held together with tape, wartime censors snipped out the cleric's observations of allied armed forces. When Finnegan left the area, Fr. Alphonsus Sharkey appears to have picked up the correspondence with McIlhenny through the late 1950s. From his letters, he particularly enjoyed the trout fishing afforded by the lakes at Glenveagh. From the number of requests and expressions of gratitude sent by many others, Glenveagh also offered ideal forests for deer stalking.

This sub-subseries also contains a few letters with several employees at Glenveagh, including stalkers, groundskeepers, and two of his early agents, as well as with Americans planning to visit the estate. Other correspondence documents McIlhenny's dealings with various departments of the Irish government concerning issues such as importation, taxation and the purchase of deer. At issue in the correspondence of the Donegal Service Depot is whether McIlhenny should import a station wagon from the U.S. or purchase one made by the Henry Ford plant in Cork. In addition to matters such as customs regulations and duties discussed in the letters, the accompanying ephemera and photographs vividly illustrate automobile design and advertising of the early 1950s. It appears McIlhenny decided to have the Cork facility assemble his eight-seater, four-door wagon with solid mahogany panels.

A number of original folders contained more invoices than correspondence. Any letters of substance, that contained information other than an enclosed bill or acknowledgment of payment, were retained and filed in the "alphabet" folders created during processing. See the "Arrangement" note at the collection level for a detailed explanation of the processing protocol determined for invoices. Subject files conclude the sub-subseries and reflect the original folder identification.