GAA medals, programmes, tickets, jerseys, footballs and hurling sticks are becoming increasingly popular among collectors and All-Ireland medals in particular could prove a worthwhile investment.

Mr Ian Whyte, director of Whyte's auctioneers in Marlborough Street, Dublin, which has a GAA memorabilia section in its auction tomorrow believes that All-Ireland medals, "the ultimate collectable of GAA memorabilia," are undervalued.

"They're surprisingly inexpensive at the moment. You could pay anywhere between £500 and £1,500. But when you think of all the effort that goes into achieving them, that's a very, very small price. I really think they're seriously undervalued. I think they're a reasonable investment," he says.

A further curious thing about them is that the more recent they are, the more valuable they tend to be. Medals from the last 30 to 50 years tend to be more valuable than, say, 100-year-old medals. "It's a strange thing because the older ones should be more valuable because a lot of them have been lost or scrapped."

For an All-Ireland medal of recent vintage you could expect to get £800 to £1,200. Medals from counties that do not win very often, such as Clare in hurling or Armagh in football, can be more valuable. Early medals from the 1880s up to the 1920s tend to fetch between £500 and £700.

The early medals varied quite a bit. They seemed to go to different jewellers. "In fact, I think in the early days - 1880s, 1890s, the club had to go and get the medal made so there were wide variances in the design from year to year," he says.

For people who collect different designs, they were several to choose from in the first 20 or 30 years. But after that it settled into a particular design. "But most collectors would collect their own county, particular players or medals from a specific match that was particularly memorable."

Mr Whyte estimates that a medal from the Bloody Sunday match in 1921 would "fetch anywhere from £2,000 upwards because of its historical significance".

All-Ireland winners' medals are struck in nine carat gold. The bullion value of each is about £30 or £40 and it probably costs £80 to £100 to make each one, of which there are approximately 20 medals for each All-Ireland final. In the earlier days, the GAA tended to put the name of the club and the player on the medal and they were presented at a function afterwards. But nowadays, the GAA only inscribes the date of the final because it presents the medal directly after the game.

It is up to the team to get their names inscribed but a lot of players do not do this. From the collector's point of view, unless an unnamed medal comes with a provenance from the family, its value is likely to be diminished.

League championship winners' medals tend to fetch "£200 at most". Railway Cup finals in football and hurling are reasonably popular. They are worth around £100 to £200. Medals from provincial finals can be worth £100 to £200, with county medals valued at £50 to £70. Silver medals and others tend to fetch £10 to £30. People also collect GAA jerseys, footballs and hurling sticks. But with these items "you'd want to have a signed provenance from the members of the team" or accompanying documentation, says Mr Whyte.

GAA programmes are becoming increasingly popular. These tended to be very basic until the mid-1940s. "People didn't tend to keep them so they're extremely rare. I would say at least £100 upwards for early pre-war programmes and they could fetch up to £400 or £500," he says, although you have to be careful of fakes.

Programmes from the 1940s can be worth between £50 and £100, with those featuring counties that do not appear very often tending to fetch bigger money. The more recent the programme, the less valuable they tend to be. Condition is also a factor.

Tickets can be valuable, while tickets from early matches are quite sought after. "We sold a Bloody Sunday ticket for £1,000. Ordinary tickets from the 1930s and 1940s can fetch anywhere from £50 to £150," he says.

Viewing 9.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. today at Whyte's auctioneers, 30 Marlborough Street, Dublin 1. Telephone: 01 874 6161. (There is no viewing on day of sale.) Whyte's auction starts at 10.30 a.m. tomorrow comprising books, manuscripts, autographs, maps, posters, photographs, postcards, toys and miscellaneous collectables. The estimated time for the GAA memorabilia sale is 2 p.m.