IT WAS surely no coincidence that both Christie's and Sotheby's held previews in Dublin this week of their forthcoming Irish art sales.

A week separates these two important auctions, which will be held in London at the companies respective premises on Thursday, May 9th (Christie's) and Thursday, May 16th (Sotheby's).

Christie's sale has already been previewed on this page a fortnight ago and after being shown at the Conrad Hotel in Dublin last Tuesday and Wednesday, it will be on view at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, Belfast next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

While the entire contents of this auction have been brought over from London, Sotheby's has chosen to display just a selection of its (much larger) sale; this can still be seen today in Dublin's Newman House before going on to Grey Abbey, Newtownards, Co Down, for five days from next Tuesday and thence back to London.

Anyone with even a passing interest in Irish art will want to pay a visit to this show before it goes to the salesroom.

And for buyers, there really is something for every taste, from the outstanding examples of Jack Yeats's work to the more modestly priced George II cream jug, possibly by Bartholomew Moss dating from circa 1730 and carrying an estimate of £400-600 sterling.

While space limitations on this page mean that for the moment it is not possible to give much coverage to either sale, there are a handful of Sotheby's pictures which deserve to be mentioned.

Chiefs among these are the aforementioned Yeats paintings, particularly Leaving the Raft which dates from 1949 and is an outstanding example of the artist's late monumental style, and A Farewell to Mayo, painted in 1929 and bought by Laurence Olivier in, 1942 for his wife Vivien Leigh. These carry estimates of £200,000-300,000 sterling and £150,000-250,000 respectively.

Also of major importance is the collection of watercolour and pencil preliminary designs by Harry Clarke for his Geneva window, which is now in the Wolfsonian Foundation in Miami.

The six drawings carry individual reserves ranging from £8,000 to £20,000.

And the Government may be interested in the inclusion of a series of drawings from the offices of architect Richard Castle for Leinster House, now the seat of the Dail which carry the relatively low price of £3,000-5,000.

Since the Sotheby's auction is still four weeks hence, it will be possible to write more of what is on offer both here and at Christie's before that date.