Sparkling piece of 'Father Ted' memorabilia

SMALL PRINT:A JACKET WORN by Fr Ted's nemesis, Fr Dick Byrne, in the A Song For Europeepisode of Father Tedis currently up for auction on eBay.

"The jacket is a must-have for any serious Father Tedfan or indeed any dedicated follower of fashion – heads will be turned," runs the blurb for the fetching showbiz jacket.

There have been 18 bids so far for this piece of TV memorabilia and the current highest bid, as of yesterday, is £82 (€97).

However, the seller (the Aisling Project London-Irish charity) has listed a “reserve price” (which is not disclosed to eBay bidders) so it could be that only much higher bids will be countenanced.

The jacket was donated to the charity by the makers of the programme, Hat Trick Productions. The Aisling Project work on behalf of vulnerable Irish people in the UK and provides support for long-term emigrants.

The auction for the jacket continues until next Sunday and, as is typical of eBay auctions, expect a late flurry of bids a few hours before the auction ends.

The jacket, though, faces stiff opposition in the “novelty item” stakes from a current big money auction for a single lock of Justin Bieber’s hair.

The Canadian teen pop star amassed headlines worldwide recently when he got his hair cut. US chat show host Ellen DeGeneres requested a lock of his shorn hair for an eBay auction with proceeds going to an animal welfare charity.

There have been 61 bids so far for the hair (which comes in a signed box) and the current highest bid stands at $12,800 (€9,266). You can follow the action at: http://bit.ly/eZ1Guj.

The eBay site has seen some very bizarre auctions over the past few years.

One seller put “The Meaning of Life” up for auction (it went for a bargain $10.50, or €7.60); a not very happy woman put her cheating husband’s used condom and his lover’s lingerie up for auction (or as she described the items herself: “empty condom packet and the tart’s knickers”). The last bid listed for the items was $6.50, or €4.70.

Back in 2009, 10-year-old Zoe Pemberton was doing brisk business on her grandmother (Pemberton put her up for sale on eBay because she was “annoying and moaning a lot”) with dozens of bids coming in – there was even one for $20,000 (€14,500) – before the auction was shut down by eBay for “breaching strict sales policies”.