Saving the Free State's bacon

IT’S NOT easy to admit – after 800 years and all that – but the British have, on occasion (such as the recent bailout loan) saved our bacon.

During the difficult early years following independence, when the Free State was still technically a dominion within the British Empire, exports were vital.

In London, the Empire Marketing Board encouraged the British public to buy products from wherever the sun never set – including, even, from the rebellious neighbours. In 1929, the board commissioned a poster from Irish artist Seán Keating – ironically best-known for his paintings of the War of Independence – to promote “Irish Free State bacon”. A rare surviving example (€600-€900) is to go under the hammer at Morgan O’Driscoll’s Irish art sale in Cork.

The auction features 285 lots and includes paintings by Mark O’Neill, Markey Robinson, Maurice Canning Wilks, John Shinnors and Cecil Maguire. Viewing begins at noon tomorrow at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Little Island, Cork where the auction begins at 6.30pm on Monday.