Item 3 - Letter Regarding the Estate of Michael Kelleher

2 pp; typescript

Letter from J. C. & A. Blake, Solicitors of 27 Marlboro’ Street, Cork, concerning the testamentary estate of Michael Kelleher of Ballincurrig South, Douglas Road, Cork. The correspondence accompanies a final settlement cheque of £284 3s 6d and explains a significant £1,200 deficit that forced a pro rata abatement of all wills and legacies. The solicitors detail that while Michael Kelleher’s assets initially appeared sufficient to cover his £5,560 in total bequests, it was discovered after his death that he had unlawfully retained the entire estate of his brother, Denis D. Kelleher (d. 1912). Following claims submitted by Denis’s rightful next of kin – including the families of his brothers Cornelius and John Kelleher, and his sister Johanna Conroy – £1,618 19s 8s had to be diverted from the funds to settle those shares. Contemporary handwritten annotations on the second page calculate the impact on the recipient’s specific legacy, updating the original £1,000 bequest down to a net £784 3s 6s after accounting for £500 already received.