Michael Collins walking stick, Michael Stone paintings and gate from Maze prison go under the hammer

A walking stick reputedly owned by republican leader Michael Collins, a gate from one of the H blocks in the Maze prison, and Royal Irish Constabulary intelligence files are among the items being auctioned next week.
By The Newsroom
Published 20th Sep 2021, 16:09 BST
Auctioneer Carl Bennett holding art by Michael Stone, one of the lots for sale at Bloomfield Auctions in east Belfast next week. Picture date: Monday September 20, 2021.Auctioneer Carl Bennett holding art by Michael Stone, one of the lots for sale at Bloomfield Auctions in east Belfast next week. Picture date: Monday September 20, 2021.
Auctioneer Carl Bennett holding art by Michael Stone, one of the lots for sale at Bloomfield Auctions in east Belfast next week. Picture date: Monday September 20, 2021.

Other items in the police and military-themed sale at Bloomfield Auctions in east Belfast include a service medal from the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin, a series of artworks painted by loyalist Michael Stone and a miniature hurling stick signed by republican prisoners, including former IRA leader Joe Cahill.

The auction also includes two pieces from dining sets – a porcelain cream jug and a spoon – that would have been used by high-ranking Nazis Heinrich Himmler and Joseph Goebbels on their personal train carriages during the Second World War.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Karl Bennett, the managing director of Bloomfield Auctions, said the Collins pieces – a walking stick and intelligence files covering the period from 1920 to 1922 – are expected to draw particular interest at the sale, which takes place on Tuesday and Wednesday next week. Mr Bennett believed both items could potentially sell for as much as £10,000 each.

Walking stick once belonging to Michael Collins with letter of providence, one of the lots for sale at Bloomfield Auctions in east Belfast next week. Picture date: Monday September 20, 2021.Walking stick once belonging to Michael Collins with letter of providence, one of the lots for sale at Bloomfield Auctions in east Belfast next week. Picture date: Monday September 20, 2021.
Walking stick once belonging to Michael Collins with letter of providence, one of the lots for sale at Bloomfield Auctions in east Belfast next week. Picture date: Monday September 20, 2021.

Anyone wishing to buy the Maze prison gate, which comes complete with keys and hinges, will certainly need to think about how to transport it home.

“It’s extremely heavy, as you’d expect,” said Mr Bennett.

For more info visit www.bloomfieldauctions.co.uk

A message from the Editor:

Auctioneer Carl Bennett points on a page from a large dossier of Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) documents with a notice to arrest Michael Collins, one of the lots for sale at Bloomfield Auctions in east Belfast next week. Picture date: Monday September 20, 2021.Auctioneer Carl Bennett points on a page from a large dossier of Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) documents with a notice to arrest Michael Collins, one of the lots for sale at Bloomfield Auctions in east Belfast next week. Picture date: Monday September 20, 2021.
Auctioneer Carl Bennett points on a page from a large dossier of Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) documents with a notice to arrest Michael Collins, one of the lots for sale at Bloomfield Auctions in east Belfast next week. Picture date: Monday September 20, 2021.

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Ben Lowry

Acting Editor

Related topics:Ben Lowry