A set of three early 20th-century All-Ireland Hurling Final medals won by a Kilkenny player made €40,000 – way above the estimate of €10,000-€15,000 – at Fonsie Mealy Auctioneers sale of sporting memorabilia in Kilkenny's Ormonde Hotel on Tuesday evening. The medals were won by Piltown farmer John T Power, who played as goalkeeper in the 1907, 1911 and 1913 finals. Auctioneer George F Mealy said the price was "the highest ever paid for Irish sports medals" and they'd be "going back to the Piltown GAA club" after a successful bid by a businessman from the village, John O'Shea, the founder of agri-business Iverk Produce.
A medal awarded to a member of Clare's first All-Ireland Hurling team in 1914 (they beat Laois) sold for €9,750 – within its estimate (€7,000-€10,000). .
A medal awarded to a Kilkenny hurler on the winning side of the 1939 “Thunder & Lightning Final” – played on the day that the second World War began – made €3,100.
The sliotar from the 1913 All-Ireland Hurling final sold for €2,100 (€800-€1,200) and was bought by the GAA Museum, Croke Park.
A race card for the 1993 Grand National, signed by all the jockeys – in an event infamously marred by two false starts and the result ultimately declared void – sold for €1,100, over double the top estimate (€300-€500).
For full results: see fonsiemealy.ie
