WHYTE'S THE ECLECTIC COLLECTOR 13 MAY 2023

65 History THE ECLECTIC COLLECTOR · TIMED ON-LINE AUCTION 28 April - 30 May 2023 121 1902 (11 September) Royal Irish Constabulary poster - £100 Reward for information on escapee James Lynchehaun. ‘James Lynchehaun, convicted of attempted Murder and Arson, having escaped from Maryborough Prison....I will give A Reward of £100 etc...... Neville Chamberlain, Inspector General, RIC’With photographs of Lynchehaun. 13.50 by 8.50in. (34.3 by 21.6cm) Condition: Small pieces missing from corners, a couple edge tears, very good. At Valley House on Achill Island in 1894, an English landowner, Agnes MacDonnell, was brutally attacked and her home burnt. James Lynchehaun, her former land agent, was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. He escaped twice and won a groundbreaking case in the United States successfully resisting extradition. . A Franciscan monk in Achill, Brother Paul Carney, who had befriended and assisted Lynchehaun, wrote up the fugitive’s story, and Lynchehaun became a folk hero. John Millington Synge visited Mayo in 1904/1905 and decided to locate The Playboy of the Western World in north Mayo. Lynchehaun was one of Synge’s inspirations for constructing the character of Christy Mahon. Estimate €200-€300 (approx £180-£260) Click here for more images and to bid on this lot 121 122 1903 (12 July) Royal Humane Society Bronze Medal for life saving to a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary, County Cork. Inscribed DENIS O’SULLIVAN JUL 12 1903. Awarded for saving a boy from drowning at Ballydehob. O’Sullivan is listed in RIC archives as a Detective Inspector on 20 January 1921. 1.50 by 1.50in. (3.8 by 3.8cm) Condition: Extremely fine in original box of issue. The Royal Humane Society (RHS) bronze medal was introduced in 1837. It is awarded to people who have put their own lives at great risk to save or attempt to save someone else. According to RHS Case 32835 Denis O’Sullivan swam out 300 yards to rescue a boy named Duggan who was in an unconscious state, having become exhausted in 12 feet of water. Estimate €300-€500 (approx £260-£440) Click here for more images and to bid on this lot 122