Silverware presented to former Fianna Fáil taoiseach Seán Lemass is to be sold at auction in Dublin next week. Gifts given to politicians occasionally turn up years later at auction, often consigned by family heirs.
The silver, to be sold in four lots, will go under the hammer at O’Reilly’s Auction Rooms on Francis Street next Wednesday, October 22nd. For reasons of client confidentiality, the auctioneers have not disclosed the vendor’s identity, but said the items’ provenance was impeccable.
A silver salver, 20 centimetres in diameter, is inscribed “Presented to Mr Sean F Lemass TD”, in November 1953, “to commemorate the opening of the new factories of Messrs Welding Rods (Ireland) Ltd [and] Onslow & Randel Ltd at Jamestown Rd Finglas”. It has an estimate of €200 to €300.
A modern North American sterling silver bowl, inscribed “presented to Honorable Sean Lemass, Prime Minister of Ireland, by The World Trade Center in New England” in 1964 is expected to sell for between €300 and €400 .
The most intriguing item is an "Asian silver 7-piece tea service", estimated at €600 to €800 and catalogued as "Presented to Sean Lemass on a visit to UAE". However, the United Arab Emirates was only formally established as an independent state in December 1971 – seven months after Lemass died.
The auctioneers said the item was not inscribed and the vendor had “no written record or living memory” of the circumstances of the gift. It is not known if, or when, Lemass visited the Middle East or if the gift might have been presented to him by an Arab delegation to Ireland. The emirates, during his lifetime, were British protectorates known as the Trucial States.
A pair of silver twin-handled bowls made in 1959 by Cork silversmiths William Egan is estimated at €300-€400.
Lemass, a founder member of Fianna Fáil, served as taoiseach from 1959 until 1966, when he was succeeded by Jack Lynch. He retired as TD for Dublin South-Central in 1969 and died in 1971, aged 71.
His daughter Maureen married the late Charles Haughey, who also became leader of Fianna Fáil and taoiseach.
