The Thomas Spring Rice Papers

Thomas Spring Rice was born in Limerick on 8 February 1790, the only son in a family of three. His parents were Stephen Edward Rice of Mount Trenchard, county Limerick, and Catherine Spring, only child and heiress of Thomas Spring of Castlemaine, County Kerry. He had a distinguished career as a politician, representing Limerick in Parliament from 1820 to 1832, and the borough of Cambridge from 1832 to 1839. He was made Under Secretary of State for the Home Department in 1827, and served as joint Secretary to the Treasury from 1830 to 1834 under Lord Grey. His other appointments included Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1835 to 1839, and Comptroller of the Exchequer from 1835 until his death in 1866.

The material contains primarily correspondence, petitions and resolutions created and generated by Thomas Spring Rice during his political career. The material has been divided into five series. The first four series reflect Thomas Spring Rice's major activities over the years. Series 1 comprises material relating to general elections and Series 2 to judicial matters. Series 3 comprises petitions and resolutions from organizations and individuals. Series 4 contains material relating to civic building activities, most notably Limerick Gaol, Kilrush Harbour and Wellesley Bridge (now Sarsfield Bridge). Series 5 comprises miscellaneous items, mainly correspondence, pamphlets and ephemera of general political nature.