McSwiney prison letter one of 30 ‘rebel’ items

Six-page letter from Annie MacSwiney, written from Brixton Prison on Aug 28, 1920 in regard to her brother, Terence MacSwiney.

MacSwiney, Lord Mayor of Cork, died in Brixton in October 1920 after 74 days on hunger strike.

AN historical collection of Irish republican letters will be for sale at Hegarty’s in Bandon next Tuesday (Feb 19) at 7pm.

Highlights among 30 lots include a two-page letter by Terence MacSwiney, written from prison in 1916, a 1934 letter from General Tom Barry, and a six-page letter from Annie MacSwiney, Terence’s sister, dated Aug 28, 1920. It was written from his bedside at Brixton Prison.

MacSwiney, Lord Mayor of Cork, died in Brixton in October 1920, after 74 days on hunger strike. The collection is estimated at €10,000-€20,000.The 250 lot sale features 18th and 19th century Irish silver including a c1800s Irish silver cream jug and sugar bowl (€1,000-€2,000) and an Irish silver ladle (€800-€1,200). They are part of a single-owner collection. Antique furniture includes an Irish Georgian linen press (€1,500-€2,500), a 17th century, oak silver chest (€1,000-€2,000), a Regency, rosewood tea table (€2,000-€4,000), a Victorian dining table (€2,000-€4,000), and a 19th century library bookcase (€2,500-€5,000). Collectibles include Continental silver, ivory netsukes, Chinese porcelain, jewellery and art.

Viewing is from noon to 5pm today (Saturday, Feb 16), from 2pm to 5pm tomorrow, from noon to 5pm on Monday, and from noon to the start of the auction on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, more than 40 pieces of sculpture from the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Ireland have just gone on show in the gallery’s Millennium Wing. Many have not been on public view for some time.

Included is a portrait of the Cork-born artist Daniel MacLise by the British Victorian sculptor John Thomas and a portrait of Frank O’Connor by Seamus Murphy. Paul Troubetskoy’s life-size statue of George Bernard Shaw, has been placed just outside the Irish galleries.