Antiques: Easter Rising flag of truce for auction for €10k-€15k 

Handkerchief used by the Volunteers to indicate they wished to surrender their final position on April 29, 1916, is a sought-after lot

The Moore Street Flag of Truce at Fonsie Mealy's sale.

In this age of digital and AI, it is good to see the enduring popularity of an event featuring rare books and collectibles, as all sorts of interesting lots come under the hammer at Fonsie Mealy’s Rare Book and Collectors’ Sale.

The three-day event in Castlecomer, on June 23, 24 and 25, is headed by the Moore Street 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 Misérables by Victor Hugo and a scarce 1823 edition of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Viewing gets underway in Castlecomer on Friday (June 19).

The programme for the 1914 All-Ireland Football Final, refereed by the patriot and revolutionary Harry Boland, at Fonsie Mealy.

A 600-lot-plus book auction in Birr at Purcell Auctioneers on Wednesday (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.