The letters give detailed accounts of every parish in County Clare, with the information included ranging from origin of place names to local lore and legends. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in local studies of County Clare.

This publication is derived from the Ordnance Survey Letters compiled in 1839, and is based on a typescript of the original manuscripts for County Clare, which were prepared in 1928 under the direction of Rev. M. O'Flanagan.

The Clare material is of special interest as two of the greatest Gaelic scholars of all time, Eugene Curry from Kilbaha, County Clare, and John O'Donovan from Slieve Rua in County Kilkenny, participated in the survey.