This collection documents the life and work of Irish writer and humorist Flann O’Brien. It also includes the papers of his wife, Evelyn O’Nolan, who managed his estate after his death, and his brother, Micheál Ó Nualláin, an illustrator and portrait artist.

Included are awards, correspondence, clothing, degrees, furniture and personal belongings, literary manuscripts, medals, notes, paintings, passports, photographs, scrapbooks, sketches, and theater programs. The material covers topics such as O’Brien’s writing and adaptations of his work for television and the stage; his career in the Irish civil service; his education at Blackrock College and University College Dublin; his health, death, and funeral, Irish politics and culture; and family matters. Items of significance include manuscript drafts of many of O’Brien’s best-known works, as well as some never published material; Micheál Ó Nualláin’s illustrations for O’Brien’s newspaper column, An Cruiskeen Lawn; O’Brien’s typewriter; and a comical map of Ireland designed by O’Brien and illustrated by Micheál Ó Nualláin.