Sir John Lavery’s 1935 ‘Freeman of Dublin’ certificate to be sold at auction

The certificate granting the Freedom of the City of Dublin to the artist Sir John Lavery in 1935 has turned up after 80 years and is to be sold at auction later this month.

Lavery, the Belfast-born painter, at the time based in London and one of the most famous artists in the world, was presented with the honour by the lord mayor, Alfie Byrne, on September 17th, 1935.

The hand-decorated certificate, signed and dated in Irish and English and contained in a silver-mounted carved mahogany cabinet, has been consigned to Whyte’s in Dublin who will auction it later this month.

Auctioneer Ian Whyte said the unnamed vendor was a descendant of the artist – living overseas – who had "deliberately sent it here in the hope that it would stay in Ireland".

It will go under the hammer in the RDS in Dublin on September 28th with an estimate of €2,000-€3,000.

The Freedom of Dublin is Ireland's most prestigious civic honour apart from honorary citizenship and has been awarded to only 80 people since its inception in 1876. The first recipient was Isaac Butt, the Donegal-born MP and Home Ruler.

Only 55 people have been made Freemen of Dublin since the foundation of the State, including John F Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela. Irish recipients include George Bernard Shaw, Éamon de Valera, Stephen Roche, Maureen Potter, Gay Byrne, Bono and Brian O'Driscoll.