Historical highlights and ancient artefacts at Whyte’s

John McCormack’s portable altar and a letter from Kevin Barry are among the items at Whyte’s Eclectic Collector sale this week

Kevin Barry’s last letter to Kathleen Carney, handwritten in 1920 hours before he was executed

Whyte’s Eclectic Collector sale takes us on a rollercoaster ride through history starting with a piece from antiquity: a bronze, two-edged sword dating from 1000-800 BC, before the arrival of the Celts, at a time when Ireland was a thriving gold mining centre, and found by the father of the vendor in silt on the side of Lough Erne, Enniskillen in 1952 (€4,500-€5,500).

Leading the sale is one of a number of lots relating to ...