THE final surrender letter penned by Patrick Pearse at the end of the 1916 Easter Rising is set to go up for public auction, after the Irish government declined the opportunity to purchase it.
The hand-written letter, dated April 29, 1916, is expected to sell for between €1 - €1.5 million when it goes under the hammer at Adam’s Auctioneers in Dublin next month.
The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht said they had declined the offer to purchase the document due to its high price and the fact that they already had examples of Pearse’s writing.
This is the second time the Irish government has turn down the chance to buy the letter. In 2005 the item was offered to state for €50,000. Upon the state’s refusal it was sold to a private collector at auction for €800,000.
The latest decision has provoked criticism from several corners.
Speaking to the Sunday Business Post, Diarmaid Ferriter, professor of modern Irish at University College Dublin and advisor to the government’s 1916 commemorations, labelled the refusal 'appalling'.
"I appreciate state money is not unlimited, but if it leaves the country, it means two crucial surrender notes from 1916 will be in other countries," he said.
"If the government cannot or will not purchase the document it would be nice to think that a wealthy civic and patriotic-minded individual would purchase it and donate it to one of our national archives, which is where it really belongs."
