The director of the National Museum of Ireland, Dr Pat Wallace, said yesterday he was "thrilled" that a letter written by Pádraig Pearse on the eve of his execution has been bought for the State.
Purchased yesterday morning by an anonymous benefactor, it is expected to go on display at Collins Barracks in about three weeks. More than €100,000 was paid for the item.
The deal was made before the letter was due to be sold at the Independence auction held in Dublin by Adam's and Mealy's auctioneers.
At the auction, an original match ticket from Bloody Sunday, 1920, sold for €30,000, reaching 10 times its estimate.
The National Museum successfully bid on a Blueshirt uniform and badge, spending €14,000 on the acquisition. Among several other items bought by the museum was an offer of amnesty issued by the government during the Civil War and items relating to the 1798 rebellion.
Commenting on the Pearse letter, Dr Wallace insisted that the State was "confident" about its provenance. The seller's details had not been made public and questions had been raised over whether it was originally part of the items left to the State by Margaret Pearse, sister of the Easter Rising leader, upon her death in 1968.
"It's a condition of the sale that the seller will provide us with evidence of why, where and how he came by the letter," said Dr Wallace. "We've already asked for certain details, and we're more than happy that the seller is a reputable person."
Dr Wallace confirmed that he had already examined the letter and had considered bidding on it before the benefactor stepped forward a week ago. The individual does not want his identity disclosed, but is an Irishman, and is resident in the State.
"I did not know him, and I'm not sure if he has ever bought anything like this before," explained Dr Wallace.
"It is highly unusual in my experience. But he was genuine and wanted the museum to have it rather than let it go into private hands."
While Dr Wallace would not confirm the price agreed, he said that it was "near enough" to the upper range of the auction estimate of €80,000-€120,000.
He added that this was "not to the limit or near it" of what the benefactor was prepared to pay.
The letter, to the commanding officer of the British forces in Ireland, Gen Maxwell, asks that certain items be presented to Pearse's mother or sister after his execution.
Included in the lot is Gen Maxwell's signed confirmation of receipt of the letter.
Dr Wallace said he was unaware if the benefactor would avail of the tax benefits available to those who present items of cultural importance to the State.
At a busy evening session of the Independence auction, most items achieved prices above their estimates. There was such interest at Adam's salesroom that the crowd spilled out the door and into the corridor.
Among the lots was an original 1916 proclamation, which sold for €240,000.
Reaching 10 times its estimate, Tom Clarke's Irish Volunteer membership card fetched €22,000.
A Citizens Army mobilisation order, signed by James Connolly, sold for €80,000, while a copy of Irish War News, printed by republicans during the Easter Rising, sold for €26,000.
An Irish language copy of the New Testament, owned by IRA hunger striker Terence MacSwiney, sold for €50,000.
A set of medals from the Easter Rising and the War of Independence also sold for €50,000.
A collection of Pearse letters sold for €37,000.
