1867. A Unique Fenian Flag, carried in parades and demonstrations from the 1860s to the 1920s
His daughter, Hannah Condon Cleary;
Thence by descent.
and gold coloured thread piping. The original design has a sunburst at left, with
lettering in gold – GOD SAVE vertically and to the left of a large gold harp and
I...Read more
and gold coloured thread piping. The original design has a sunburst at left, with
lettering in gold – GOD SAVE vertically and to the left of a large gold harp and
IRELAND vertically to the right and ANGLESBORO ’67 in gold at the base, with gold
trefoil shamrocks at each corner. The original lettering was worn away when
Hannah Condon restored it in the 1950s with gold painted card lettering and
decorations
The Sunburst symbol was used by Irish nationalists from the first half of the
nineteenth century and although the green flag with a gold harp was the preferred
banner, the following lines, penned in 1843, foresaw the combined use of the
Sunburst and the Harp on green:
That the ‘harp on the green’ our land flag should be,
And the sun through clouds bursting, our flag at sea.
The green-borne harp o’er yon battery gleams,
From the frigate’s topgallant the ‘sunburst’ streams.
Willie Condon was born in the Mitchelstown area and settled in Anglesboro,
County Limerick, where he married “a Quane woman of mountain foot”. He
befriended John O’Mahony of nearby Kilbehenny and joined the Fenian
Brotherhood which O’Mahony had founded in 1858 from exile in America. It is
believed he was involved in the battle with Crown forces at Kilclooney Woods
where a 100 strong group of Fenians was intercepted on the way to Limerick under
Peter O’Neill Crowley, who was killed in the engagement.
It is thought that Condon had the flag made to commemorate the Fenian Rising
and it was used at a demonstration on the first anniversary in 1868. It was put to
regular use thereafter, especially during the Land League campaign which Willie
Condon joined with great enthusiasm and was very active in the Anglesboro,
Ballylanders and Mitchestown districts. On one occasion in 1881, carrying the flag,
he led 250 men armed with spades from Anglesboro to Ballylanders to free his
imprisoned comrade William Manahan, who had been jailed under the Coercion
Act. On another occasion Clifford Lloyd, a military officer based in Mitchelstown in
the 1880s, wrote1 of an attempted impounding of cattle for non payment of rent
and rates which was intercepted by a huge crowd led by Willie Condon. Even
though Lloyd’s raiding party was well armed “the sight of such an enormous crowd
led by Willie Condon with the Fenian Flag fluttering in the breeze, convinced the
raiding party that discretion was the better part of valour”2 In other encounters
with the Crown Condon had roads blocked with stone walls, and he led his “Galtee
Mountain Boys” under the Fenian Flag to Mitchelstown on 9 September 1887 to
join a 15,000 strong protest over the appearance in a Coercion Court there of John
Mandeville and William O’Brien. The crowd were attacked by police but they had to
beat a hasty retreat to the barracks from where they shot dead two of Condon’s
men. The battle cry “Remember Mitchelstown” dates from that time. In 1906 Willie
Condon was a member of the committee that erected a statue to Mandeville in the
square at Mitchelstown. When he died in 1908 over 25,000 people attended his
funeral and a large Celtic Cross monument was erected over his grave at Kilgulane
Cemetery.
This is an extremely important flag of the Fenian Brotherhood, that was carried
with fierce pride by Willie Condon and his “Galtee Mountain Boys”3 for over fifty
years, and was kept safe from the Black and Tans during the War of Independence
by his daughter Hannah, who was commander of the Cumann na mBan in the area.
After the war it was carried by Willie Condon’s descendant at annual
commemorations of the Fenian Rising, the Mitchelstown shootings, and Willie
Condon’s anniversary, up to the early 1970s, until it was feared it might get
damaged so it was kept since in a frame in a descendant’s home.
1 Charles Dalton Clifford Lloyd Ireland Under The Land League – A Narrative of
Personal Experiences, William Blackwood, Edinburgh & London, 1892
2 Kilfinane Coshlea Historical Society Historical Journal Volume 5, 2009, pp 55-59
3 Hannah Condon Cleary wrote the famous song The Galtee Mountain Boys, the
first verse of which goes:
Hurrah, they came, brave Galtee Men,
The village people cried,
As into Ballylanders the mountain men
they hied.
They marched into the village street
And faced down Clifford Lloyd
With Willie Condon at their head
The Galtee mountain pride.
and it ends:
Alas, he sleeps that humble chief
In Kilgulane’s lonely grave
That hero brave who fought his way
To emacipate the slave.
His memory wil be honoured
And a monument will rise
To tell the fame of Condon bold
- Auction Details
- T&Cs
- Bidding
Clause 1
(a) Each lot is put up subject to any reserve price imposed by the vendor
(b) Subject to sub-clause (a) of this clause, the highest bidder for each lot shall be the purchaser thereof
(c) If any dispute arises as to the highest bidder the auctioneer shall have absolute discretion to determine the dispute and may put up again and re-sell the lot in respect of which the dispute arises.
Clause 2
(a) The bidding and advances shall be regulated by and at the absolute discretion of the auctioneer and he shall have the right to refuse any bid or bids. NOTE: Where an agent bids, even on behalf of a disclosed client, the auctioneer nevertheless has the right at his discretion to refuse any such bid.
(b) The purchaser of each lot shall immediately on its sale, if required by the auctioneer, give him the name and address of the purchaser and pay to the auctioneer at his discretion the whole or part of the purchase money. If the purchaser of any lot fails to comply with any such requirement the auctioneer may put up again and re-sell the lot; if upon such re-sale a lower price is obtained than was obtained on the first sale the purchaser in default on the first sale shall make good the difference in price and expenses of re-sale which shall become a debt due from him.
(c) Where an agent purchases on behalf of an undisclosed client such agent shall be personally liable for payment of the purchase money to the auctioneer and for safe delivery of the lot to the said client.
Clause 3
(a) The auctioneer reserves the rights to bid on behalf of clients including vendors, but shall not be liable for errors or omissions in executing instructions to bid.
(b) The auctioneer reserves the rights, before or during a sale, to group together lots belonging to the same vendor, to split up and to withdraw any lot or lots at the auctioneer's absolute discretion and without giving any reason in any case.
(c) The auctioneer acts as agent only, and therefore shall not be liable for any default of the purchaser or vendor.
Clause 4
(a) Each lot shall be at the purchaser's risk from the fall of the hammer and shall be paid for in full before delivery and taken away at his expense within one day of the sale. The buyer will be responsible for all removal, storage and insurance charges in respect of any lot which has not been collected within one day of the date of sale.
(b) If any purchaser fails to pay in full for any lot within 21 days of the date of sale such lot may at any time thereafter at the auctioneer's discretion be put up for sale by auction again or sold privately; if upon such re-sale a lower price is obtained than was obtained on the first sale the purchaser in default on the first sale shall make good the difference in price and the expenses of re-sale which shall become debt due from him.
(c) Interest at 2 per cent per month and legal costs (if any) for recovery of monies due shall be payable by the purchaser on any overdue account.
Clause 5
(a) Each buyer, by making a bid, acknowledges that he has satisfied himself as to the physical condition, age and catalogue description of each lot (including but not restricted to whether the lot is damaged or has been repaired or restored).
(b) All lots are sold with all faults and imperfections and errors of description and the Auctioneer and its employees, servants or agents shall not be responsible for any error of description or for the condition or authenticity of any lot, save for Clause 5 (c) below. Written or verbal condition reports may be supplied by the Auctioneer on request but these are merely statements of opinion, and any error or omission in these reports may not be taken as grounds for a cancellation of sale or refund of any part of the purchase price or the cost of any repairs to the lot or lots reported on
(c) A purchaser shall be at liberty to reject any lot if he - (i) gives the auctioneer written notice of intention to question the genuineness of the lot within seven days from the date of sale; AND (ii) proves that the lot is a deliberate forgery and (iii) returns to the auctioneer within 20 days from the date of sale the lot in the same condition as it was at the time of sale; provided that the auctioneer may, at his discretion, on receiving a request in writing from the purchaser, extend for a reasonable period the time for return of the lot to enable it to be submitted to expertisation. NOTE: The onus of proving a lot to be a deliberate forgery is on the purchaser.
(d) Where a lot has been submitted to expertisation, all costs of such expertisation shall be paid by the person who retains the certificate of expertisation and item or items to which the certificate relates.
(e) Where the purchaser of a lot discharges the onus and acts in accordance with sub-clause (b) of this clause, the auctioneer shall rescind the sale and repay to the purchaser the purchase money paid by him in respect of the lot.
(f) No lot shall be rejected if, subsequent to the sale, it has been marked by an expert committee or treated by any other process unless the auctioneer's permission to subject the lot to such treatment has first been obtained in writing.
(g) Any lot listed as a "collection, range, portfolio etc." or stated to comprise or contain a collection or range of items which are not described shall be put up for sale not subject to rejection and shall be taken by the purchaser with all (if any) faults, lack of genuineness and errors of description and numbers of items in the lot, and the purchaser shall have no right to reject the lot; except that, notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this sub-clause, where before a sale a person intending to bid at the sale gives notice in writing to, and satisfies the auctioneer that any such lot contains any item or items undescribed in the sale catalogue and that person specifically describes that item or those items in that notice, then that item or those items shall, as between the auctioneer and that person, to be taken to form part of the description of the lot.
Clause 6
The respective rights and obligations of the parties shall be governed and interpreted by Irish law, and the buyer hereby submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Irish Courts.
Special Conditions
a) The buyer shall pay the Auctioneer a commission at the rate of 20% (Art sales) or 24% (Collectibles sales). The Buyer's Premium is added to the hammer price of all lots and is subject to VAT at the prevailing rate.
(b) The Auctioneer or its employees, servants or agents may, on request organise packing and shipping of lots purchased or may order on the buyer's behalf third parties to pack or ship purchases. Under no circumstances does the Auctioneer accept any liability whatsoever for any loss or damage howsoever occasioned in the course of such service.
(c) The buyer authorises the Auctioneer to use any photographs or illustrations of any lot purchased for any or all purposes as the Auctioneer may require. The placing of a bid will be taken as full agreement to all the above conditions.
WHYTE AND SONS AUCTIONEERS LIMITED, 2022
We hold two types of auction - TIMED and LIVE SALEROOM
1. TIMED AUCTIONS
WHAT IS A TIMED AUCTION?Timed auctions do not have an auctioneer calling the bids – there’s just a bidding time frame and whoever bids highest during the time frame wins. Each lot can be bid on for a defined time period. At the end of this period, the bidder who has submitted the highest bid wins the lot, provided the bid exceeds the reserve price. You tell us the most you’re willing to pay – and we’ll bid intelligently for you, only bidding enough for you to meet the reserve or stay in the lead. Don’t worry, your maximum bid is not disclosed, and is held in confidence on our bidding system.
WHEN ONLINE BIDDING STARTS - YOU CAN LEAVE BIDS online and your bid will start at one step above the previous bid or at the start price if no other bid. You will be notified by email if you get outbid before the auction starts.
ONCE THE AUCTION BEGINS TO FINISH, ON THE DATE AND TIME SPECIFIED, THE EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS CEASE and you should follow the auction on-line to see how your bids are doing. Make sure you have logged in if you wish to bid.
WHEN THE AUCTION BEGINS TO FINISH ON THE DATE AND TIME SPECIFIED,THE BIDDING FOR EACH LOT REMAINS OPEN FOR 45 SECONDS at a start price determined by the reserve or bids already received. Each lot will be open and remain open for bidding until its end time is reached; the end time will be extended by 45 seconds if another bid is received. At the end time, if there are no further bids and the highest bid received equals or exceeds the reserve price the lot is sold to highest bidder.
The Buyers Premium for Art sales is 20% plus VAT ( 24.6% gross). The Buyers Premium for Collectibles sales is 24% plus VAT (29.52% gross). The Buyers Premium will be added to your winning bid amount. Your invoice will detail all the payment, collection and shipping particulars.
2. LIVE SALEROOM AUCTION:
If you can't attend the auction in the saleroom you can email or post or telephone bids to us, or you can book a telephone line to bid during the sale. Contact us on +353 16762888 or bids@whytes.ie
To bid on-line at a Live Saleroom Auction:
• Log in or register bid.whytes.ie
• Visit the online auction catalogue
• Find the lot number you are interested in.
· The current highest bid will be displayed
• The minimum bid required to beat the highest bid will also be shown.
· You can place your bid. The screen will show the new highest bid and will indicate if that bid is yours. Note: if a previous bidder has left a bid that equals yours the previous bidder will win the lot unless you outbid them. If the screen doesn’t confirm that your bid is winning you will need to bid again if you wish to buy the lot. Don’t worry -the system will not allow you to bid against yourself.
• The live auction will begin at the announced date and time and will be sold in lot number order by the auctioneer.
• Invoices will be issued to successful bidders on the next working day after the sale has ended.
BIDDING STEPS:
Up to €300 x€10
Up to €700 x €20
Up to €1,300 x €50
Up to €3,000 x €100
Up to €7,000 x €200
Up to €13,000 x €500
Up to €30,000 x €1,000
Up to €40,000 x €2,000
Up to €70,000 x €2,000
Up to €130,000 x €5,000
Up to €500,000 x €10,000
A FEW TIPS FOR ABSENTEE BIDDERS:
Bid the maximum price you would pay for the lot; we will try and secure the lot for you at the lowest possible price. For instance if you bid €2,000 on a lot and the highest other bid we receive is €1,200 you get it for €1,250. Most people tend to bid in round numbers, e.g. €500. It’s often a good idea to bid an odd number, e.g. €520, or €540 which will outbid an even number. Check the results the day after the sale: these are published on our website www.whytes.ie at about 10am on the day after the sale. Successful bidders are also notified of results by mail.
TIE BIDS: if two or more equal bids are received the lot will be sold to the first received.
The Buyers Premium for Art sales is 20% plus VAT ( 24.6% gross). The Buyers Premium for Collectibles sales is 24% plus VAT (29.52% gross). The Buyers Premium will be added to your winning bid amount. Your invoice will detail all the payment, collection and shipping particulars.