Fonsie Mealy Auctioneers RARE BOOK & COLLECTORS SALE 6th & 7th, December 2022

90 IMPERFECTIONS NOT STATED Fonsie Mealy’s Est. 1934 575. Scéul Chathail Brugha Brugha (Cathal, 1874-1922) A framed Poster entirely in Irish, being his election address for the Waterford constituency in the general election of 1918, headed ‘Mór- Thoghadh Cho. Phortláirge, 1918 / Scéul Chathail Brugha’, addressed to ‘A Ghaedheala Phortláirge, a dhaoine cosanta clú 7 teangan na hÉireann ..’ In an unfamiliar Gaelic font, three different sizes, ‘arna chur i gcló ag Ó Lochlainn, Ó Murchadha & Ó Beoláin Teo.’ (the firm run by Colm Ó Lochlainn’s father). Approx. 29½” x 19½”, damp mark towards bottom not affecting the text. A remarkable document, probably the only election poster in 1918 issued entirely in Irish. It did him no harm, as he was elected and took his seat in the first Dáil, where he took the chair initially and became Minister for Defence. Born in Dublin, he was second in command at the South Dublin Union in 1916 and died in July 1922 from wounds received while emerging from a besieged building in O’Connell Street. (1) €1500 - €2000 573. A 1916 COMMEMORATIVE MIRROR An exact facsimile of the 1916 Proclamation , engraved on the reverse of a sheet of mirror glass, and elaborately framed in a series of gilt rectangles enclosing symbols of Irish history and nationhood, entirely executed to his own design by a Cork craftsman and wood gilder, Mr. Patrick Coffey. The overall style follows the Romanesque architecture of the General Post Office itself. Around the Proclamation are small silhouette portraits of the seven signatories modelled in bog oak. The frame’s pillars to left and right, crowned by Easter lilies, are modelled in giltwood with symbols from the Irish struggle for freedom; they rest on the rising sun symbol of Fenianism to left, and the green flag of the Irish Republic to right. At the base, a Celtic cross is flanked to left by a Citizen Army volunteer and to right by a Cumann na mBan member, further flanked by the doorways of Kilmainham Prison, where the signatories met their end. The reproduction of the Proclamation shows some of the printing errors of the original. Above the Proclamation the design reflects the pillared façade of the General Post Office. At the apex, Volunteer Gearóid O’Sullivan raises the flag of the Irish Republic as in April 1916. A unique and most impressive artefact, representing Irish craftwork at its best, and highly suitable for display in an appropriate public or private building. In fine condition throughout, approx. 187cms x 108cms (73½”h x 42”w). (1) €70 0 0 - €10 ,0 00