This year marks the 90th anniversary of the Easter Rising - but it also marks the largest collection of 1916 memorabilia ever to go on sale.

The collection, much of it on view to the public for the first time, goes under the auctioneer’s hammer on Sunday and Wednesday.

The 1916 Easter Rising marked the symbolic birth of the Irish Republic.

The leaders of the doomed rebellion were quickly executed by the British after a fight against hopeless odds and the might of the British Empire, but their deaths inspired the drive for Irish self-determination.

There is fascination in Ireland about the Rising and what inspired it - even among a vocal group of modern critics who argue it was undemocratic, a claim mocked by those in Ireland who today revere the leaders, the great folk-heroes of Irish nationalism.

The 90th anniversary sees two auctions.

Up for grabs are items such as rebel leader Michael Collins’ typewriter, the hand-written first manuscript of the Irish National Anthem by its author Peader Kearney, and a vast store of memorabilia - everything from police intelligence reports, personal letters, propaganda posters, medals, to art.

Stuart Cole of Dublin fine art auctioneers Adam’s, said: “One of the principal unique aspects of this sale is that it contains so much material that comes directly from the families of those who were involved, principally the Thomas Clarke archive which is, to my mind, one of the only intact archives from one of the leaders of 1916.”

The 1916 collection is open to the public. More details can be found on the following websites:

Http://www.jamesadam.ie/

http://www.mealys.com/

http://www.whytes.ie/

Posted: 04|8|06 at 1:33 pm. Filed under: Collectables.