| Letters by rebel leader Pearse to
go on display A LETTER written by famous Irish rebel hero Padraig
Pearse is to go on public display after being sold to a museum by a mystery
vendor.
The National Museum of Ireland has announced that it has purchased a letter
written by Irish hero Pearse for an undisclosed sum.
Written on May 2, 1916 just hours before his execution, the letter by
Pearse is addressed to the commanding officer of the British Forces in
Ireland General John Maxwell.
The letter that details the Irish rebel leader’s last wishes was
sold by a private individual who chose not to be named and was bought
for the museum by an anonymous benefactor.
Written by Pearse from his cell in Kilmainham Prison, Dublin, the letter
is one of just three handwritten notes signed by him during his incarceration
and asks Maxwell to pass four poems on to his mother and sister, a five-pound
note and a number of personal effects.
The museum reached a last-minute pre-sale agreement with the seller
ahead of an auction in Dublin where it was estimated it would sell for
£70,000.
The letter will form part of the museum’s public collection, marking
the first time it will be placed on public display
A letter of surrender signed by Pearse was sold in May 2005 for £500,000
in Dublin to an American buyer despite calls for it to remain in Ireland.
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