€25,000 Donegal carpet for auction

Catalogued as the "New Ireland Carpet", an exceptionally large Donegal carpet measuring about 13.7m by 5m will go under the hammer in Mealy's auction on Wednesday . The blue carpet was commissioned by the New Ireland Assurance company (a subsidiary company of Bank of Ireland) for its Dublin offices in 1964 and features a woven "central medallion with a harp and a crest of the four provinces with an inner Celtic band and inscribed "Mo Dia – Do Dia, Mo Tír – Do Tír" ("My God – Your God, My Land – Your Land") with Celtic style interlaced gold link-style border in ivory, gold and light blue".

It was made in the once-famous Killybegs factory – now closed – that also supplied carpets for the Oval Office and Buckingham Palace.

Mealy’s said the carpet had been consigned by “a Dublin gentleman” who acquired it 20 years ago, apparently when “the carpet was sold by the New Ireland Assurance company when they refurbished their offices (dividing the boardroom into several separate areas), and no longer had a room large enough to accommodate it”. For bidders with a very large room to decorate, the estimate is €15,000 to €25,000.