Fans bid to land president’s hot seat at Lansdowne memorabilia auction

OWNING a unique piece of Irish sporting folklore is about to become a reality for Irish sports fans.

Following the approval of planning permission in March to build a new stadium on the site of Lansdowne Road, the IRFU last night announced that hundreds of items of memorabilia and stadium collectibles will be sold between April 26 and 30.

Up for grabs will be items as diverse as the seat occupied by numerous Irish presidents over the years and the actual turnstile gates which have been in operation at the stadium for so long.

Lansdowne Road’s history spans nearly 130 years from the first international rugby match that took place there against England on March 11, 1878. Since then the stadium became an integral part of the fabric of Irish sport, before culminating in the last international game against the Pacific Islands on November 26.

The stadium has seen many changes during its life, with the completion of the Guinness East Stand the last major development to the ground. This will all change with the development of the new stadium on the site of Lansdowne Road, at a cost of €365 million, which is due to be completed in 2009.

Apart from turnstiles and the Irish President’s seat, items up for auction include stadium seats from varied positions in the stadium, as well as signed jerseys and memorabilia.

Renowned auctioneers, Bache Treharne, have worked with the IRFU to prepare a selection of these items from the existing Stadium.

The Online Auction is open to bids from 9am on Thursday, April 26 until Monday, April 30, at 1pm.

Peter Bache, Senior Partner of Bache Treharne added: “We have worked with the IRFU for some time now to identify items from the stadium that will be of interest to fans and collectors. We are delighted to be working with the IRFU and our experience of large scale memorabilia auctions such as Minardi Formula 1 team and more recently Arsenal’s Highbury Stadium has afforded us the experience and grounding to deliver an outstanding sale that will be open to all.”

Full details of the forthcoming auction can be obtained by logging on to www.lansdowneroadauction.ie and it will also be possible to bid for items on this site as well.