AN exciting archive of accounts from the first Dail of 1919 is included in Fonsie Mealy’s sale of books, literature, manuscripts and collectibles at the Talbot Hotel in Dublin on June 18. These are described as the financial sinews of the struggle for Independence with some accounts almost certainly written by Michael Collins. Previously unpublished, they are from the archive of Domhnall Ua Conchubhair (1872-1935), sometime secretary to the Gaelic League, accountant to Sinn Fein, the First Dail and allied bodies. The archive contains a green clothbound ledger with 20 pages of loan and deposit accounts for the Dail of 1921-22 with a separate page of military claims. This includes a note stating that amounts paid to the M. Collins account are not entered in the books of the Sinn Fein Bank and taken from notebook only. As far as Fonsie Mealy knows these accounts are unpublished and have not been seen or quoted by any historian. The estimate for the archive is 15,000-20,000. UPDATE: THIS MADE 18,000 AT HAMMER
