Collins letter goes under the hammer
A political letter from Michael Collins written after the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty was expected to fetch more than €8,000 at an auction in Dublin today.
Buyers from across the world were expected to bid for the letter, which is described as one of the most important pieces of correspondence from the republican leader.
Collins sent the three-page document to prominent Derry republican Louis J Walsh in 1922, telling him about his opposition to the Northern Ireland border.
Replying to a letter from Walsh, Collins outlined his position regarding negotiations with Winston Churchill and unionist leader James Craig.
It was written after he returned to Dublin from a meeting in London with Churchill and Craig.
Collins stated in the letter that Craig’s stance on partition was seen as “an unreasonable one and not ours”.
“All the British statesmen are agreed that it was most disastrous on Craig’s part to talk about agreeing to nothing less than the six county area,” he wrote.
He expressed his belief that ties would increase between leaders in the north and south, leading to a united Ireland in the long term.
He told Walsh that he was “no lover of partition, no matter what form it appears”, and that any form of partition was “distasteful” to him.
“It would be far better to fix our minds for a time on a united Ireland, for this course will not leave minorities which would be impossible to govern,” he wrote.
Collins also said he hoped that one day a multi-denominational party might be formed in the north east, developing links with the Free State and destabilising the northern administration.
Auction cataloguer Peter Sheen said the document was extremely important since political letters from Collins were few and far between.
“So far as Michael Collins’ correspondence is concerned virtually nothing survived,” Mr Sheen said.
“All that survived is his love letters and a few brief snippets, but there is very little in terms of political correspondence
He said this meant it was likely to go under the hammer for more than the expected €8,000.
“I wouldn’t like to say how much it’s going to fetch,” he said.
“If we had a letter from Michael Collins complaining about how his suit was cut it would fetch €3,000 or €4,000.”
He said there had been interest from buyers in the US, Australia and Britain, as well as in Ireland.
“I’m amazed at the interest,” Mr Sheen said. “A chap phoned me up from the States expressing an interest. He’s crazy about the subject and will be bidding by phone for it.”
The letter spent decades in the Walsh family but is now being sold by a private collector who purchased it a number of years ago.
“You can sense the urgency in the letter,” Mr Sheen added. “It’s very, very meaty, there’s no waffle.
It’s the most important individual piece of Michael Collins correspondence that’s come to light.”
The document is being sold at Adams Auctioneers in St Stephen’s Green from 3pm.
