Almost 500 items went on auction with both Irish and international buyers bidding for the memorabilia.
The handwritten first draft of 'Amhrán na bhFiann', the Irish national anthem, signed by Peadar Kearney was sold at auction for €760,000 to an anonymous bidder. A 1916 medal belonging to Thomas Clarke sold for €105,000. A farewell letter from Thomas Clarke to his wife Kathleen sold for €75,000. However, not all lots were successfully sold. Watercolours of the proposed GPO painted in 1814 were withdrawn at €60,000 and a tricolour believed to have flown over the GPO during 1916 was withdrawn at €560,000.
Fonsie Mealy of Mealy's Auctioneers speaks to Sinéad Crowley about the huge interest in the items from Ireland and abroad.
Not everyone was happy about the auction. Members of Ógra Shinn Féin protested outside the auction earlier that day arguing that the government should not have allowed documents and memorabilia of such historical significance to be made available for sale on the open market.
An RTÉ News report by Sinéad Crowley broadcast on 12 April 2006.
