John Thomas Gilbert (1829–98), historian and antiquary, was for thirty-four years librarian of the Royal Irish Academy. It was during this time, in 1884, that his two-volume edition of these chartularies, registers and annals was originally published. Volume 1 comprises the abbey's two chartularies - two of only three surviving Cistercian chartularies from Ireland. Of the nearly 600 items, all are in the original Latin except for one (in English). Volume 2 contains two collections of excerpts from the abbey's lost sixteenth-century register. Also included is the register of St Mary's Abbey, Dunbrody, and two portions of the annals of St Mary's Abbey, Dublin. A further fragment of the 'Annals of Ireland' furnishes details of the activities of Robert Bruce. Gilbert, throughout, provides English side-notes to the Latin text. These, together with helpful summaries of contents and an index, make the work easier to navigate.