Colin Sheridan: Is a €8m handbag a sign that moral rot within society is beyond redemption?

We are in a golden age for absurdity — the global elite will throw millions at anything with a whiff of celebrity

Sat, 12 Jul, 2025 - 01:00

Colin Sheridan is a writer and columnist. A former officer in the Irish Defence Forces he has extensive deployment experience as a peacekeeper with the United Nations, having lived and worked in the former Yugoslavia, West Africa, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Palestine.

Last week, while most of us were trying to figure out whether we could stretch a pack of sausages to Wednesday, a handbag — yes, a handbag — sold for over €8m at auction.

Not just any handbag, mind you. This was Jane Birkin’s handbag, a Hermès Birkin, apparently so fabulous it makes the Ark of the Covenant look like something you’d pick up in Mr Price.