A historic All-Ireland medal is heading back to Limerick after a local newspaper bid three times the guide price for it at an auction.
It was won by Limerick player Malachi O'Brien in the first All-Ireland football final in 1888.
The Limerick Leaderbought the medal at auction in Sotheby's today for €30,500.
"It's a unique place of Limerick history and we felt the appropriate place for it to be was in Limerick," said chairman John McStay.
The nine-carat gold medal, which is believed to be the only one of its kind remaining from the final, was the subject of attention from rival bidders.
"We're delighted with out acquisition. It's a little bit more expensive than we thought it might be but we were fairly determined to get it," said Mr McStay.
He said that the newspaper would put it on public display in Limerick and would then consider a final resting place for it in the long term.
The GAA museum in Croke Park has expressed an interest in the medal.
Malachi O'Brien won it when his club, the Limerick Commercials, beat Dundalk Young Irelands by 1-4 to 0-3 in April 1888.
The final was played at a site known as "The Big Bank" in Clonskeagh in Dublin and was the first to feature clubs representing their counties.
Mr O'Brien went to the USA for 32 years but returned to his homeplace of Ballinvrina in Limerick in 1929.
He lived there until his death in 1953, and the medal was handed down through four generations of his family.
It was put up for auction by a relative, Mary Doran, who wanted to use the proceeds to care for her elderly mother.