The 1823 2nd edition of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The Moore St. flag of Truce from the Easter Rising was the top lot at Fonsie Mealy’s rare book and collectors sale. It made a hammer price of €62,000. Other leading hammer prices were: A rare edition of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (€24,000), Kevin Barry’s personal crucifix and scapular (€19,000), a first edition of Adam Smith’s Inquiry into the wealth of nations (€15,000), an archive from the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin (€15,000), a programme for the 1914 All Ireland Football Final (€14,000), a 2nd edition of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (€9,500), a 1795 general atlas by Thomas Kitchin and others (€9,000), a rare 1918 Irish Proclamation (€8,500) and the Carton House music collection (€8,000).
(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for June 20 and June 13, 2026)
The Gaiety Theatre archive. UPDATE: THIS MADE 15,000 AT HAMMER
From the rapid construction of the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin in 1871 to an incredibly rare 1823 second edition of Frankenstein, the Carton House music collection to the earliest printed house contents sale catalogue in Ireland, Fonsie Mealy’s rare book and collections sale in Castlecomer next week covers a multitude.
The catalogue includes the fascinating fact that the much loved Gaiety Theatre – which opened in 1871 and continues merrily to this day – was reputedly built in just 28 weeks from start to finish. Contrast that with a certain Events Centre in Cork where the first sod was turned ten and a half years ago and sod all has happened since. An archive of around 200 vellum patents and legal documents relating to The Gaiety – Sarah Bernhardt, Eileen Terry, Pavarotti, Maureen Potter, Jimmy O’Dea and the D’Oyly Carte Company have all performed here – is estimated at €7,000-€9,000.
A letter signed by Michael Collins as Minister for Finance. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,500 AT HAMMER
The Carton House collection of 18th and 19th century music, purchased at the 1949 dispersal sale, is among the largest collections of music from an Irish stately home to come to market. Music by Handel, Beethoven and Haydn is included among 45 volumes in original calf bindings, many signed by the Duke of Leinster (€5,000-€7,000).
The newly discovered catalogue by Baillie Auctioneer for the sale of the goods of the late Edward Wingfield at Powerscourt and his house in Dublin (€3,000-€5,000) announces (confusingly) that it will begin .. “on Tuesday the 25th day of February 1728-29 and to continue till all are sold”. It lists contents from 45 rooms with lots ranging from 24 fine walnut chairs with Barbary leather seats, a Turkey carpet, five pairs of yellow Indian damask curtains to “One young black Stone Horse fit for an officer” and a stage coach with a new seat cloth never used since it was re-lined.
A 1951-52 photograph of Brendan Behan and Micheal MacLiammoir signed by Daniel Farson. UPDATE: THIS MADE 700 AT HAMMER
Irish and international literature is headed by a rare 1823 edition of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, a second (1813) edition of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and a signed limited edition printing of Bog Poems by Seamus Heaney. A sonnet handwritten by William Wordsworth with provenance to the de Veres of Curragh Chase and the O’Briens of Dromoland Castle is estimated at €1,500-€2,000. A 1951-52 photograph of Brendan Behan and Michael MacLiammoir by Daniel Farson (€700-€900) and a first (1957) edition of From Russia with Love by Ian Fleming (€350-€420) feature among the fascinating lots.
The most expensively estimated of these is the Moore St. flag of Truce, a white linen handkerchief used by Volunteers to surrender during the East Rising (€10,000-€15,000). There is a rare 1918 printing of The Proclamation of the Irish Republic, a 1916 Volunteers green tunic and a 1920 letter signed by Michael Collins as Minister for Finance.
Sporting memorabilia includes a programme for an early soccer international between Ireland and England at Goodison Park, Liverpool in 1907 and a 1914 All Ireland football final programme between Kerry and Wexford which ended in a draw.
The three day sale takes place next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday June 23, 24 and 25. It is on view in Castlecomer on the afternoon of June 21 and from 10 am to 5 pm on June 22. The catalogue is online.
Ist Edition From Russia with Love UPDATE: THIS MADE 400 AT HAMMER
The Moore St. Flag of Truce at Fonsie Mealy’s sale. UPDATE: THIS MADE 62,000 AT HAMMER
In this age of digital and AI it is good to see the enduring popularity of rare book and collectors sales. All sorts of interesting lots come under the hammer. Fonsie Mealy’s three day sale in Castlecomer on June 23, 24 and 25 is headed by the Moore St. flag of truce, the white linen handkerchief which indicated the Volunteers wished to surrender their final position during the Easter Rising on April 29, 1916. Singularities like this do not come cheap and this one is estimated at €10,000-€15,000.
With more than 1,250 lots on offer there is much to choose from, including sporting memorabilia, historical and political items and literature including the first edition in English of Les Miserables by Victor Hugo and a scarce 1823 edition of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Viewing gets underway in Castlecomer on June 19.
In Birr the book auction with more than 600 lots at Purcell Auctioneers on June 17 offers eight folio volumes from the 1871 census arranged by province and county (€600-€800), four folio volumes from the 1881 census with more than 4,000 pages of statistical information and a first edition of Dancing at Lughnasa signed by Brian Friel (€300-€500). At Purcell’s sale in May a 15th century medieval legal manuscript in middle French from the library of Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792-1872) made €36,000 at hammer.
The programme for the 1914 All Ireland Football Final refereed by the patriot and revolutionary Harry Boland at Fonsie Mealy.
This pair or late 17th/early 18th century Italian portraits made €73,000 at Fonsie Mealy’s fine art and antique sale. With a provenance to the Ponsonby’s of Ballynatray, Waterford the oils on canvas depict classical female saints. A c1630 painting of an angel and the dead Christ at candlelight from the Circle of Triomphe Bigot made €19,000 and a Madonna and Child with the infant St. John the Baptist by Raffaellino del Garbo (1466-1524) made €13,000. An early 20th century Fabergé circular pill box made €15,000.
A pair of important 18th Century Italian Baroque style giltwood Console Mirrors. UPDATE: THESE WERE UNSOLD
These 18th century mirrors from Bishopscourt House in Co. Kildare come up as lot 1017 at Fonsie Mealy’s three day Chatsworth Summer Fine Art sale in Castlecomer on May 1. The auction with over 1,300 lots gets underway tomorrow (April 29). The catalogue is online. The mirrors are estimated at €3,000-€4,000.
A bow brooch set with 11 Colombian emeralds. UPDATE: THIS MADE 11,000 AT HAMMER
A rare gold and platinum bow design brooch set with 11 Colombian emerald cabochons of varying size, an estate cabinet from Clonmeen House in Banteer and a re-discovered Roderic O’Conor painting exhibited at the Salon des Independents in Paris in 1904 are among the delights at Fonsie Mealy’s Chatsworth summer fine art sale in Castlecomer on April 29, 30 and May 1.
More than 1,300 lots will come under the hammer, including contents from Clonbrock House, Galway, items once at Castletown and objects from other stately homes in Ireland. There is Georgian and Regency furniture from a commission by Gillows in London for Lord Clonbrock, luxury fashion and jewellery, Irish and international art and a variety of collectibles. An estate cabinet from Clonmeen with numerous pigeon holes was in the collection of Major Stephen Grehan (1895-1972). He fought at the Western Front and at Salonica during World War I and later in Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq). The sale feature more than 450 furniture lots including Gillows furniture from Clonbrock and Castletown. An early rosewood sofa table by Gillows of London and Lancaster dates to around 1801 – the time of the Clonbrock commission – and is estimated at just €1,000-€1,500.
Lot 249 is an Irish 19th century gold cased pocket watch by John Donegan, Dublin and the sale offers a collection of Irish silverware. The auction is on view in Castlecomer from 1.30 pm to 5 pm on April 26 and from 10.30 am to 5 pm on April 27 and 28. The catalogue is online.
An Irish George III estate cabinet from Clonmeen House, Banteer. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,900 AT HAMMER
Roderic O’Conor (1860-1940) – Chrysanthemums and Christmas Roses, 1897 UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
This oil on canvas by Roderic O’Conor is, at €80,000-€100,000, the most expensively estimated lot at Fonsie Mealy’s Chatsworth summer fine art sale in Castlecomer on April 29 and 30 and May 1. It has re-emerged on the market after many decades in a private collection. Painted in 1897 Chyrsanthemums and Christmas Roses was shown in Paris in 1904 in the Salon des Independents. More than 1,300 lots will come under the hammer at three days of sales. The catalogue is online and viewing gets underway in Castlecomer on April 26.
Irish Georgian mahogany serving table, possibly Cork. UPDATE: THIS MADE €360 AT HAMMER
With everything from a 1963 Morris Minor and a 19th century decorated hand painted Sicilian cart to a 19th century inlaid boulle credenza and a Irish Georgian mahogany serving table possibly made in Cork Fonsie Mealy’s Making Room sale in Castlecomer on February 4 and 5 has lots to interest collectors of every hue.
More than 840 lots of antique furniture, paintings, decorative arts and collectibles will come under the hammer. Estimates are reasonable and all lots are to be sold.
There will be Cork interest in a retro wooden mantel clock presented to solicitor John Rearden in September 1950. A small plaque on the Edwardian mahogany clock records that it was presented by the Cork Employers Federation Ltd. “In token of their appreciation of his 42 years service as Secretary”. The lot, complete with a photograph of the presentation, is estimated at €180-€220. An inlaid wall clock by Hilsers of the Grand Parade has an estimate of €120-€180.
Given that it is reckoned that you could travel around central London in a horse drawn carriage in the old days more quickly than by fast car nowadays the contrasting options of a 19th century pony trap (€800-€1,200) and the four cylinder Morris Minor (€3,000-€4,000) are of interest. The car was owned by the Odlum family of Portarlington. The Sicilian cart, with spoked and iron clad wheels, has an estimate of €400-€600.
Tables, chairs, chests, Oriental screens, display cabinets, paintings, rugs and a converted 18th century spinet, an early 20th century carved wooden hobby horse, a Cork Mansion House service plate, a pair of Dresden bowls and three pieces of Copeland to be sold as one lot and all sorts collectibles vie for attention in an auction where the offerings are comprehensive. Ebony string inlay marks an Irish Georgian serving table as a possible Cork piece. The estimate is a mere €400-€500. The catalogue is online and the sale is on view in Castlecomer on February 3.
A pair of Dresden floral bowls, a Copeland dish and two matching plates. UPDATE: THIS LOT MADE €140 AT HAMMER
A pair of 19th century Japanese censers. UPDATE: THESE MADE €150 at hammer
Viewing gets underway in Castlecomer today for Fonsie Mealy’s Making Room sale which will take place over two days on February 4 and 5. There are 633 lots in total including this pair of 19th century bronze Japanese censers of elephant form with pagodas. They are each 13 inches in height and the estimate is €250-€350, The catalogue is online.
Michael Angelo Hayes (1820-1877) – The Kildare Hunt 1858. UPDATE: THIS MADE 50,000 AT HAMMER
An 1858 painting of the Kildare Hunt by Michael Angelo Hayes will lead Fonsie Mealy’s winter fine art and antique sale in Castlecomer on December 3 and 4. Estimated at €40,000-€60,000 it is part of a range of items celebrating our equestrian heritage including the Tralee Races Cup, the Blennerhassett Plate and the Kilkenny Hunt Cup.
The Hayes painting is a large group portrait outside Bishopscourt House near Straffan, Co. Kildare. It depicts the Earl of Clonmel, Lord Cloncurry, the Marquis of Drogheda, Thomas Connolly, Captain Colthurst, Sir John Power and many more identifiable figures.
More than 1,000 lots of antique furniture, art and collectibles are to be auctioned. There is a Faberge link gold bracelet, a selection of gold coins, a 19th century dining table on four pods, a Peel P50 one person commuter car from the early 1960’s, a 1963 Morris Minor, a pair of French Empire four branch candelabra, a specimen marble table and a silver ladle by Samuel Johns, Limerick among the leading lots. The catalogue is online.
A vintage Peel P50 one person commuter car. UPDATE: THIS MADE 8,000 AT HAMMER
