This collection, which is part of the larger Constantine Curran/Helen Laird letter collection, contains material by and relating to James Joyce. It comprises 133 letters by or relating to James Joyce, members of his family, and others closely associated with him. The collection includes 25 letters from Joyce to Curran, letters from Joyce's brother Stanislaus, and correspondence from associates and friends of Joyce such as Paul Leon, Harriet Shaw Weaver, and Sylvia Beach.

This collection comprises the papers and correspondence of the Kevin Barry Memorial Committee. The Committee was formed to raise funds to create a memorial to Kevin Barry (20 January 1902–1 November 1920). Barry, a medical student at University College Dublin, was executed for his part in an ambush which resulted in the deaths of three British Army officers. The Committee commissioned Harry Clarke Stained Glass Limited to create a stained glass window dedicated to Kevin Barry and the other students and graduates of University College Dublin who lost their lives in the struggle for Irish Independence. The window, designed by Richard King, was erected in Earlsfort Terrace and unveiled on 1 November 1934. In 2010, the window was conserved, restored and relocated in the Charles Institute at Belfield, the current campus of University College Dublin.