Other InformationWilliam O'Brien (1832–1899) was an Irish judge and a noted bibliophile. O'Brien was born at Bloomfield, County Cork, son of John O'Brien and his wife Mary Bunbury of Kilfeade. He went to school in Midleton, entered Gray's Inn in 1852 and was called to the Irish Bar in 1855, becoming Queen's Counsel in 1872. He was appointed a judge of the High Court of Justice in Ireland in 1882, serving in the Queen's Bench Division until his death in 1899.
From the 1880s, O'Brien amassed a large collection of antiquarian books, including medieval manuscripts, about 100 incunabula, numerous Aldine editions as well as three Shakespeare folios. The collection was bequeathed on his death to the Irish province of the Jesuits, who put it up for auction in 2017.
Other InformationWilliam O'Brien (1832–1899) was an Irish judge and a noted bibliophile. O'Brien was born at Bloomfield, County Cork, son of John O'Brien and his wife Mary Bunbury of Kilfeade. He went to school in Midleton, entered Gray's Inn in 1852 and was called to the Irish Bar in 1855, becoming Queen's Counsel in 1872. He was appointed a judge of the High Court of Justice in Ireland in 1882, serving in the Queen's Bench Division until his death in 1899.
From the 1880s, O'Brien amassed a large collection of antiquarian books, including medieval manuscripts, about 100 incunabula, numerous Aldine editions as well as three Shakespeare folios. The collection was bequeathed on his death to the Irish province of the Jesuits, who put it up for auction in 2017.