A set of keys reputedly found in the ruins of the GPO after the Rising will be sold at auction in Dublin.
The keys were taken from the building by Commandant WJ (William) Brennan-Whitmore, a member of the Irish Volunteers who took part in the Rising and lived until 1977.
The set of four rusty keys on a key ring will go under the hammer in an auction of historical collectibles entitled “1916: Ireland: Before and After” in Dublin on Saturday, April 23rd, on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the Rising.
On Easter Monday, April 24th, 1916, the rebels took over the GPO at gunpoint. Although it was a public holiday the office was open for business.
Fonsie Mealy Auctioneers said the keys had been consigned to auction by an unnamed vendor who received them as a gift from the late Fred E Dixon, a well-known collector who died in 1988.
Dixon had originally acquired the keys from Brennan-Whitmore, a native of Co Wexford, a journalist who in 1916 was a senior member of the Irish Volunteers and took part in the Rising.
Brennan-Whitmore was the officer commanding the Volunteer position at the head of North Earl Street, an outpost of the rebels’ GPO garrison. His task was to prevent British forces from deploying reinforcements coming from Amiens Street railway station (now Connolly) towards the GPO.
Dublin burning
He was the last surviving commandant of the Rising when he died in December 1977. Four years before he died Brennan-Whitmore published an eye-witness account titled:
Dublin Burning: The Easter Rising from Behind the Barricades
.
The GPO was almost completely destroyed during the Rising.
The auctioneers say “these may be the keys that opened the door to the 1916 Rising”.
The estimate for the keys lot is €1,000-€1,500, which the auctioneers say is “conservative”.
The auction is one of a number of specialist sales devoted to 1916-related memorabilia and collectibles scheduled for this spring.
