| Historic ticket attracts top price
 A
TICKET for the Gaelic football match at Croke Park which ended in the
notorious Bloody Sunday massacre by British troops reached more than double
its expected value at an auction last week.
Auctioneers believe the hype which surrounded the historic Six Nations
rugby clash between England and Ireland last month helped the poignant
souvenir fetch over £5,000 at the sale.
The ticket for the ill-fated Tipperary v Dublin game was expected to reach
between £1,000 and £2,000 on the day.
On November 21, 1920 14 British undercover agents known as the Cairo Gang
were assassinated by the IRA in morning raids across the capital ordered
by Michael Collins.
In retaliation British soldiers surrounded the stadium before opening
fire indiscriminately at innocent supporters inside.
The troops killed 14 people, among them children aged as young as 10.
Auctioneers Mealy’s who sold the ticket at a sale of GAA and other
sporting memorabilia at Tara Towers in South Dublin described the item
as excessively rare.
Written on the back of the ticket is: “Pass Miss M Byrne and lady
friends IRPDF Irish Republican Prisoners Dependants Fund Collectors.”
It was signed “JFS” and mounted on a card with a photograph
of IRA man Peadar Clancy who was killed by the British while trying to
escape Dublin Castle the same day as the ill-fated match.
The high prices secured for a number of early GAA match programmes also
surprised the auctioneers as they fetched up to £4,000 each amid
strong bidding from collectors.
George Mealy Jnr of Mealy’s Auctioneers said two private collectors
went head-to-head in a dramatic bidding showdown for the coveted ticket.
“It really went crazy in there,” he said.
“We were weighed down with the interest in this sale and particularly
for the match ticket.
“It really is the piece de resistance of any collection of GAA memrobillia.”
In the light of the massive interest in the run-up to the sale the auctioneers
had decided to increase the expected sale price.
“We expected it to reach up around the ?5,000 (£3,400) mark
but not as much is it did,” said Mr Mealy. |
