Field day for Gaelic games collectors

FOLLOWING LAST Sunday’s All-Ireland hurling final, there is likely to be considerable interest in the auction later this month of rare, early examples of medals won by players from both counties Kilkenny and Tipperary.

They are among an extensive selection of GAA memorabilia featured in the catalogue for Mealy’s rare book and collectors’ sale on September 28th.

The star lot is a collection of eight medals – seven gold and one silver – garnered by Kilkenny hurler Jack Anthony between 1904 and 1907.

The set includes the medals he won for Kilkenny’s first, second and third All-Ireland victories. Mealy’s has assigned the “very attractive and extremely scarce collection” a pre-sale estimate of €7,000-€9,000.

A medal awarded to a member of the Tipperary team that won the 1899 final is estimated at €2,000-€3,000. In the early days of the GAA, clubs represented counties in the All-Ireland final. That year, the match was won by Tipperary club Moycarkey which beat Wexford’s Blackwater. The name of the recipient of the medal is unknown.

A baseball bat, given by Babe Ruth to Frank McGrath, manager of the Tipperary hurling team during their visit to America in 1926, is estimated at €4,000-€5,000.

At a reception given in their honour at Yankee Stadium, the Irish party met the famous baseball player and the most famous sportsman in the United States, George Herman Ruth jnr – universally known as “Babe” Ruth. McGrath presented him with a hurl and received a gift of the baseball bat in return.

A hurl used by former taoiseach and Cork hurling star Jack Lynch is also included in the sale.

It is signed by the ex-Fianna Fáil leader and was reputedly used in the 1944 All-Ireland final – the year that Cork won their fourth title in a row. The estimate is €500-€600.

Hurling fans from counties which have yet to win the trophy might be interested in a silver miniature replica of the Liam McCarthy Cup made in 1984, by Weir and Sons, for the GAA’s centenary celebration and presented to “select members” of the organisation. The estimate is €300-€400.

Meanwhile, it’s probably too late for Dublin and Kerry players preparing for the upcoming All-Ireland football final to read a book by Dick Fitzgerald, published in 1914, called How to Play Gaelic Football. A “scarce”, illustrated copy is estimated by Mealy’s at €250-€350.

GAA match programmes included in the auction include one from the 1955 All-Ireland football final, which was won by Kerry who beat Dublin on a score line of 0-12 to 1-6. The estimate is €180-€220.