Original 1930s ‘Blueshirt’ sells for €1,400 at Whyte’s auction

An original Fine Gael "Blueshirt" from the 1930s sold at auction in Dublin for €1,400 on Saturday.

This was within the €1,000-€1,500 estimate at Whyte’s auction of historical memorabilia.

The item was catalogued as a “blue cotton military-style shirt with epaulettes and breast pockets and embroidered shield-shaped Fine Gael badge stitched to the left breast; together with a blue cotton uniform belt”.

The auctioneers did not name the vendor or the buyer, but said it attracted considerable interest from TDs and Senators last week in Whyte’s on Molesworth Street, close to Leinster House.

The uniform was worn by members of the Army Comrades' Association – nicknamed the "Blueshirts" – established in 1932 by supporters of the outgoing Cumann na nGaedheal government.

A “Blueshirts” flag – estimated at € 1,000- €1,500 – failed to sell, despite being the first ever to appear at auction.

A dinner gong sold for €2,600. It was made with a brass shell from the Helga gunboat – used by the British to bombard rebel positions in central Dublin during Easter Week. MICHAEL PARSONS