A Connemara landscape by Paul Allenry was the top selling lot at de Vere's art auction at the National Concert Hall on Monday, making its leading estimate of £20,000. This is no surprise given the excitement created at Adams's salerooms last week where Henry's The Potato Harvest broke all records for the artist's work to sell for £104,000. In Connemara was a typical Henry, of cottages, mountain and sky.

The owner's family bought it in 1931 in Comb ridges gallery for just £60.

It was busy sale, with buyers in a packed auction room snapping up almost 90 per cent of the 200 lots. Several first time buyers were attracted by the number of contemporary works on offer paintings and drawings by Tony O'Malley, Barrie Cooke, Peter Collis and others, and most of their work sold within or above estimate.

No less than 16 works by Gerard Dillon were on offer, and all were sold, making from around £440 for smaller abstract works to £7,500 for the catalogue cover painting, Yellow Nude with Fierrot and Tree.

Eight paintings by Arthur Armstrong also all found buyers, who paid from £400 up to £2,800 for a large work called High King. There was strong interest in three Louis Le Borcquy tapestries a four fold screen made £15,000; lot 114, an Aubusson tapestry, fetched £12,000; and a small firescreen with an inset cherub tapestry fetched £6,200.