Buttons in Collins’s pocket sell for €5k

A set of buttons found in Michael Collins’s pocket the day he died at Béal na Bláth have sold at auction for more than €5,000.

The nine buttons were bought for a hammer price of €4,250 before fees amid huge interest from collectors, historical groups and others. Auctioneer George F Mealy said there was huge interest in the item on Tuesday, with absentee bids and others in the room taking the price well above the pre-auction estimate of €1,500 to €2,000. The brass army uniform buttons, marked IV for Irish Volunteers, came from a collection of material once owned by Gen Eoin O’Duffy and were accompanied by a 1933 note from Collins’s sister, Margaret Collins Powell: “Please send me a receipt for the enclosed found in Michael’s tunic pocket, August 22nd 1922”.

“It would have been lovely to see them repatriated to Cork, where we had a lot of interest from. The person who bought them is delighted and has quite a large collection of Collins material, so they are in safe hands,” said Mr Mealy.