A retired racehorse trainer whom I had the pleasure to know was exceedingly honourable. So honourable in fact that it cost him his entire estate, and ultimately, his life.
Never feeling the need to marry he lived happily with his mother in the house in which he was born. His was the type who [...]
Heard an amusing story at dinner the other evening that could only be true.
Back in the 1960s Princess Margaret and Tony Armstrong Jones came over to Ireland on a private visit. One of the places they stayed was with relatives at a Castle near Offaly. The madam of which (according to my elderly [...]
The artist who painted this portrait, which is in our auction on Sunday as Lot 91, was an English painter, Frank O. Salisbury (1874-1962). A man given more to painting the Chairmen of public companies than the Edwardian beauties of his day. Due to his social class (and in those English days a hard box [...]
Serious success that auction; 2,497 lots (all sold bar two), over 47,000 new viewers to the website and a total of 3,427 bidders on the day, via phone, web and in the room.
Just recently read, or rather looked at, another of Robert O’Byrne’s weighty volumes, ‘Romantic Irish Homes’. It’s a pity photographs don’t give [...]
The week started with The Ballymacad Hunt Ball which tested the fitness. Left the field at 2am. Previous week, to my absolute horror, I tried to get one last day’s hunting in before the end of the season but on this occasion too I had to retire early. To make matters worse the Hollywood movie [...]
Here’s something that recently stretched my eyes. We’re in the process of selling an Estate in Kildare for a very reasonable and fair minded man. On a very small portion of his land, behind woodland, a neighbour took it upon himself to build a structure – without planning permission and on land that he knowingly [...]
Sometimes things just go your way. Perhaps the longer one is in business the easier it gets, or maybe it’s just that people know you’re there. Eitherway this week we’ve had three important pieces of business put our way, each recommended by past customers, which goes to show that word of mouth is your most [...]
Something very interesting has crossed my path and will be included in our Headfort House auction in March; a pocket diary belonging to Francis Bacon the artist.
One of the things often said about Bacon was that he could be emotionally cold. In my view this assumption was incorrect. He was just incredibly tough, had [...]
Here lays Ramses the First,
Whose tomb raiders did burst,
Stripped of adornment and treasure,
He now lies here for our viewing pleasure!
An Interesting postscript regarding this Mummie. The now deceased American who bought the Saint’s decapitated head from us at the Annesbrook House auction two years ago actually owned it [...]
Came across a shocker the other day. Friend of a friend went to stay with an elderly relation whose family was painted by William Orpen back in the day when the money was hereditary. Noticing nothing by the master on the walls he made enquiries of the old Colonel who told him that he had [...]
