|
Post by Frenchie on Apr 24, 2010 16:48:36 GMT 1
The keys to the H-block cells of Northern Ireland's most notorious prison, the Maze, were up for auction in Dublin on Friday. The prison housed both republican and loyalist prisoners during the Northern Ireland Troubles. It was known as Long Kesh and was home to the famous H-Blocks where ten men died in the 1981 republican hunger strikes where they fought with the Government to be recognised as political prisoners. The jail was closed in 2000 after the early release of inmates following the Good Friday Agreement. A payphone used to contact relatives and friends in the outside world, was also up for sale at Whites auction rooms in Dublin on Friday night. Dating from the late 1980s, it is one of only four public phones that were available to prisoners in the H-Blocks. One of the more expensive lots was a 1916 Rising Service Medal which was awarded to Private John Owens who was one of the first casualties of the Rising. Signed portraits of Michael Collins and Arthur Griffiths, signed by both artist and sitter, were also for sale. A stone face dating from the Iron Age sold for 26,000 euro at the auction. Ninety-seven-year-old Ross Pinkerton bought the piece which he found more than 60 years ago. It was discovered when a group of workmen were repairing a stone wall in the Claudy area. He effectively rescued it. The three-faced head is very close in appearance to a very significant head called the Corleck Head from County Cavan. Attachments:
|
|