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1916 Easter Rising flag fails to sell at New York auction


Ian Whyte, Director of Whyte's of Dublin, with the Easter 1916 flag that failed to sell at auction in New York
Photo by Nuala Purcell

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The Easter 1916 Irish flag that flew over the GPO during the Easter Rising failed to sell at an auction in New York on Tuesday when it was withdrawn at $400,000, a full $100,000 under its reserve price.

The green, white and yellow-gold Irish Tricolor was initially predicted to fetch up to $700,000, but on Tuesday it was quickly withdrawn when it failed to pass $400,000.

Bloomsbury in New York held the auction in conjunction with Whyte’s, Ireland’s premier auction house for Irish art and collectibles.

The flag was just one of many of the 70 Irish arts and artifacts on offer that did not sell on Tuesday at the auction house in Midtown Manhattan.

The focal point of the auction was the historic Irish Tricolor that flew defiantly over Dublin’s General Post Office (GPO) in the 1916 Rising. The sale attracted many well-heeled bidders to the Bloomsbury Auction House on West 48th Street on Tuesday morning. 

But to the surprise of many, the majority of the listed items did not often reach their projected price ranges.

An early precursor to the eventual green, white and orange flag, the GPO flag has a dramatic history worthy of its importance to Irish independence that seemed certain to excite the curiosity and interest of likely bidders both public and private.

Made of Irish linen, the Irish flag measured 29 by 63 inches. Its historic importance was clear to anyone who looked at it.

Although prior to the auction many observers felt assured that representatives of the Irish government would make a bid for the flag to ensure it remained in Irish hands, Ian Whyte, the director of Whyte’s Fine Art Auctioneers who curated the auction, told the Irish Voice he was quite certain the Irish government would not participate.

“The Irish government will not be bidding on the flag, I’m certain of that,” Whyte told the Irish Voice. “At a time when the country is in a deep recession, when civil servants are taking pay cuts and schools are being closed, they cannot be seen to be making a commitment of cash on an item in this price range.”

Bloomsbury’s sale catalogue notes that the flag, which is framed behind glass, is accompanied by a note from Dr. George Saint George (who owned the flag until 1922) reading, “Captured by British Troops at GPO Dublin, April 1916 and given to Dr. George Saint George by an old war veteran, Sergeant Davis.”

The flag is the only recorded full sized Tricolor of the 1916 Rising in existence and of the utmost rarity, as it was captured from the headquarters of the short-lived Irish Republic founded by Patrick Pearse and his Republican comrades, making it an icon of immense significance in the history of the Irish revolution.


Nster.com


13 Comments

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Someone should have told the makers of this flag that the colours were supposed to be Green White & Orange, not Green White & Gold.
It's perfectly possible to regard the Easter Rising as mistaken, even sectarian, and still feel the thrill of history that it evokes. I don't think the Voice report makes clear who owns the flag now. But whoever it is, it would be nice if they could offer it to the Irish nation at a "patriotic" price.
Quite the pathetic and revisionist attempt at explaining Irish history there wizardofoz.
GOOD....I'm glad it didn't sell!! It was bad Karma & in poor taste to offer up "such an all-important flag" for sale in America, or anywhere else for that matter. It belongs to the Republic of Ireland for the significance of what it stands for and it SHOULD rightfully be in a Dublin museum....near where it originally flew. Again, I express my feelings (as I did in the original article) of shame-on the "wealthy Dublin family" who own this flag and are now selling it to the highest bidder.....
The Bankers who Bankrupted Ireland and those who would sell our Nations articles of Antiquity and historic primacy have many things in common but what is very scarce in either of them is Moral fortitude. They are Profiteers without compunction, It may well have been people like these who accommodated the practice of Slavery in centuries gone by, after all there was great profits to be made selling Human Beings, Also of the opium trading that also enslaved millions in Asia in the Nineteenth Century. To hell with human suffering of pollution or National Pride if there is a dollar or a pound or a Euro to be made that is these people theme song.
Some people would sell their mother if the price was right. Put the flag back where it belongs (the Dublin museum)so it can be seen as the historic emblem it really is.
The flag needs to be safely in a museum where it can be properly honored by the Republic and admired by all those who cherish what it stands for.
I understand they're running a business but, if its genuine, this is one of the most important artifacts in Irish history. It should be literally priceless.
Isn't anything sacred? That flag should NEVER leave the Republic of Ireland. It should be on display in Dublin at the Museum. The Irish Govt. shouldn't have to buy back something that belongs to the people...it repesents the freedom so many died for. I truly hope the Irish auction house does the right thing
Why isn't this flag in a museum?
Good!! The SALE of this flag makes my blood boil
where are all the rich irish/americans like the kennedys and the rooneys(pgh steelers/horses/racetracks)? these phonies profess to have strong irish feelings; evidently on only on st pats day. rooney is the irish ambassador as well as owner of pgh stealers, racetracks, casinos, etc. too poor to buy the flag.
I think the owner should DONATE the flag to the Natl Museum of Ireland, of course!!!
 




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