WHYTE'S THE ECLECTIC COLLECTOR 13 MAY 2023

144 History 265 1923-1924. Autograph book of Irish republican prisoners held at LarneWorkhouse, Crumlin Road Jail Belfast, and prison ship Argenta. 34 pages of verse and prose by internees, also a few drawings including watercolours of the Argenta and Larne Workhouse, both of which were used as prisons. 4.50 by 5in. (11.4 by 12.7cm) Condition: Very good. During the 1920s, RMS Argenta was used by the British government as a military base and prison ship for holding Irish Republicans as part of Britain’s internment strategy following the events of Bloody Sunday in 1920. In the spring of 1922 the IRA launched an offensive in Northern Ireland resulting in the internment of many Irish Republicans on the Argenta. Internment was introduced and by May 1922 up to 700 Irish Republicans had been arrested. By February 1923, 263 men interned on the Argenta, which was moored in Belfast Lough. This location was supplemented with internments at other land based sites, such as Larne Workhouse, Crumlin Road Belfast Prison and Derry Gaol. The ship and the workhouses held 542 men without trial at the highest internment population level in June 1923, mostly in very poor conditions. Estimate €800-€1200 (approx £700-£1,050) Click here for more images and to bid on this lot 265