It’s hoped that the State will acquire previously unseen letters written by 1916 revolutionary and human rights campaigner Roger Casement.
Next Wednesday, Bonhams auctioneers in London will sell six newly-discovered letters by Casement.
They were written in the months before he landed at Banna Strand and was arrested by the British in April 1916.
Casement wrote the letters to a German journalist while living in Germany trying to drum up support for the Rising from the Germans during the First World War.
The letters were subsequently given to British diplomat David Somerville years after Casement was executed, and have been passed down in his family until now.
Kieran O’Boyle is head of Bonhams for Ireland, and he says the letters give an insight into the generosity of Roger Casement.
Kieran O’Boyle adds that he hopes the letters, with an estimated value of £4,000 to £6,000 sterling, are bought by the Irish state.
