€5,600 for a pair of old football boots!
RESULTS Victor Mee reports successful sale
Cavan-based auction house Victor Mee Auctions is reporting the results of its successful 'The Normal People Pub Memorabilia and Collectables Sale’, which took place from February 28 to March 2.
The three-day sale saw an entire catalogue of collectable, rare and unique pub memorabilia, furnishings and breweriana from Killoran’s Traditional Pub and Restaurant take to the auction block.
“Following wide spread of media interest in the lots within the sale – in particular the legendary Eamonn Mongey’s football boots – we received many calls from potential bidders keen to own a piece of GAA history and legend. We are delighted that some of the sporting memorabilia from this sale including the boots will remain right here in Ireland with their new owners. We look forward to continuing to expand our sporting memorabilia offering in coming sales,” remarked auctioneer Victor Mee following the sale. Lot 883 certainly generated huge interest among sports and GAA fans. It was a pair of football boots originally owned and worn by the late Mayo GAA midfielder Eamonn Mongey. These particular boots proved extremely lucky for Mongey as he wore them the last time County Mayo took home the Sam Maguire cup in the 1951 All-Ireland Final. They sold for €5,600 and the team at Victor Mee Auctions is happy to report they will "be staying in Ireland".
They were originally guided at €1,500 to €2,500 - so they achieved more than double the top estimate. Killoran's proprietor Annie Killoran bought the boots in 1989 at a charity auction in Kitty O’Shea’s pub in Dublin prior to the Mayo-Cork All-Ireland final and they had hung nobly for reverence in Killoran’s ever since. They were auctioned with a certificate of authenticity hand-written by Eamonn Mongey himself who visited the pub in 1995. The certificate reads: ‘I was honoured to see my football boots hanging in such a prominent position among all your other exhibits.’
Highlights
Other sale highlights include:
Lot 376 - a rare Paddy Ten Year Old Whiskey - Cork Distillers framed advertising mirror. It went under the hammer at €11,700. This mirror is the first of only ten made by Plate Glass & J.M. Co Limited Dublin and is a truly remarkable piece of advertising. Auctioneer Victor Mee had valued it at somewhere between €5,000-€10,000 prior to the sale.
Lot 451 - a rare 19th century Mitchell's Old Irish Whiskey etched glass dispenser sold for €2,400. Lot 140 - Afton and Carroll's Number 1 Tipped double sided hanging advertising light up sign achieved a sale price of €850. Now a piece of smokers’ nostalgia as P.J. Carroll & Co have long ago ceased production of Sweet Afton cigarettes, the sign was guided at €200-€300.
Lot 541 – Two-seater wooden seating from Hogan Stand sold for €560. Lot 602 - A rare 20th century Ogden’s cigarette dispensing cabinet with reverse painted glass panel, flanked by two mirrors with gilded lettering, made €4,400. Mees had valued it at €3,500-€6,500.
Lot 832 - John Jameson & Son Whiskey framed advertising print sent under the hammer at €1,400.
Lot 1125 - A 19th century painted pine complete shop counter and back shelving was bought for €5,800. Lot 1131 - Oil on board of Lough Gill by Brendan McDonagh, which originally hung in Killoran's Pub, Tubbercurry Co Sligo and seen on set of Normal People, sold for €1,200.
Steeped in history
Steeped in provenance and located in the heart of Co Sligo, Killoran's bar and restaurant was opened by Tom and Annie Killoran in 1958 and has been a renowned staple in the quaint town of Tubbercurry for the past 60 plus years. Often dubbed the “museum with a restaurant” due to the many iconic pieces of memorabilia that adorn the interior of the establishment, Killoran’s attracted visitors from across Ireland and abroad, enticed not only by the friendliness of the local proprietors, but by the enchanting atmosphere, delectable antique collection and more recently due to its claim to fame as a familiar filming location in the famed TV adaptation of Sally Rooney’s, ‘Normal People’. Aside from its Hollywood fame, Killoran’s was more traditionally known for the abundance of Irish history and culture portrayed through the vast array of antiques, collectibles advertising, mementos and photographs that could be seen covering the ceiling and walls.