In 1872 the Ballynahinch (alternately Ballinahinch) estate in County Galway was bought by Richard Berridge, a London brewer, from the Law Life Assurance Society. In the mid-1870s, he is recorded as owning over 160,000 acres in County Galway. Various surveys outline the Berridge ownership of property in County Mayo as well as Middlesex and Kent in England. In 1888 it was asserted that Richard Berridge was 'the largest landowner in Ireland'. The Galway estate was purchased for sporting purposes and the Berridges built a number of fishing lodges, including those at Inagh, Fermoyle and Screebe. The estate remained in the family's possession for only two generations. Over 70,000 acres was vested in the Congested Districts' Board on 31 Mar 1915. In 1924, the estate was sold to Ranjitsinhji, ruler of the Indian princely state of Nawanagar and famed international cricketer for England. The Berridge family retained a house in the locality and some fishing rights at Screebe until the late 20th century.
Prior to the ownership of the Law Life Assurance Society, the estate was famously owned by members of the Martin family, one of the fourteen tribes of Galway. The Martin family commissioned the building of the present Ballynahinch Castle in 1756, originally for use as an inn. Richard Martin, a longtime Member of Parliament known as 'Humanity Dick' because of his commitment to animal welfare, converted the house to a private residence at some point, and lived for a considerable part of his life at the castle. On his death in 1834, his son Thomas became his heir. The lands of the Martin estate incurred one of the highest death tolls during the Famine, and Thomas Martin himself died as a result of famine fever.
Records in the collection cover the ownership tenure of the Martins, the Law Life Assurance Society, the Berridges, and Ranjitsinhji. The records are arranged into 8 series: Richard Martin; Thomas Barnwell Martin; Law Life Assurance Society; Richard Berridge (elder); Richard Berridge (younger); Ranjitsinhji; Mary Eulalia Berridge; and Robert Berridge & Latter-day Berridges. Records include: property deeds; sale records; records of land agreements including mortgages, leases, rentals, sporting rights, fishing rights, and quarrying rights; and a small amount of records pertaining to Richard Berridge (younger) and Mary Eulalia Berridge's personal estates and those of their descendants.
The papers were donated by Sally O’Riordan, of Curraghbinny, Co. Cork. They were accessioned in 2023 Aside from personal papers kept in the family, the collection came from the Berridge family’s solicitors’ offices where Mr. Hugh O’Donnell via Mr. Nicky Ashe, delivered them to James Wilcox Berridge in Co. Wexford. They were subsequently brought to Owenmore House, Curraghbinny, Co. Cork, owned by Sally O’Riordan, daughter of Robert Lesley Berridge.
