A sprig of artificial holly carried by Sir Ernest Shackleton, the Irish born explorer, to the Antarctic in 1901 was bought from £4,025 at auction yesterday by two communities in Co Kerry.
Annascaul and Dingle, on the Dingle peninsula, joined together to buy the holly and a cotton ration bag in a sale of travel and exploration memorabilia at Christie's in London.
Shackleton took it with him together with a small plum pudding on Captain Scoll's first expedition to the Antarctic.