Prototype Liam MacCarthy Cup and more GAA collectables go under the hammer

Irish Independent

25-04-2025

The committee chose the other one, which became the Liam MacCarthy Cup. The second version, catalogued as a 'Prototype of the Liam MacCarthy Cup' (Lot 709: est. €5,000 to €7,000), is going under the hammer at Fonsie Mealy's Rare Books and Collectors' Sale, which takes place in The Avalon House Hotel, Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny, on April 30 and May 1.
The story of the cup goes back to 1922, when Liam MacCarthy offered to commission a perpetual trophy to be presented to the winners of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.
MacCarthy was an Irish nationalist and successful businessman, born in the UK to Irish parents. He was also a keen hurler who became heavily involved in the GAA in London.
The Liam MacCarthy Cup, a silver cup modelled on a medieval drinking vessel known as a mether, was made to commission by Edmond Johnson, of Dublin, and cost £50.
Ironically, the maker of this Irish cultural icon had once made jewellery for the British Crown. Johnson's replica of the 10th-century Ballyspellan brooch was purchased by Prince Albert for Queen Victoria in 1849. In 1890, Johnson also made a coronet made for the Countess of Granard.
The trophy was first presented to Limerick in 1923 for the 1921 championship, which was delayed due to Civil War. The original silver cup was retired in 1992 and is now in the GAA Museum in Croke Park. Since then, a replica of the Liam MacCarthy Cup has been presented to annually to the All-Ireland hurling champions.
It too is a Celtic Revival silver cup, modelled as a mether, with four carrying handles. It was made by Edmond Johnson of Dublin and is dated 1923
The prototype currently at Fonsie Mealy Auctioneers is similar to the original, but not identical. It too is a Celtic Revival silver cup, modelled as a mether, with four carrying handles. It was made by Edmond Johnson of Dublin and is dated 1923.
Around 29cm high, the prototype is slightly smaller than the Liam MacCarthy Cup and the design is different. Both versions have embellishments based on Celtic knot work but the decoration of the prototype, based on the Book of Kells, is much more intricate.
It's not known why one version was chosen over the other. The prototype would have been trickier to make and consequently more expensive but it's more likely that the committee preferred the simpler design.
This variant was presumably retained by the jeweller for sale, purchases, and passed down to the vendor by descent. 'I'd be absolutely thrilled if it went to the GAA Museum,' George Fonsie Mealy says. 'It would be lovely to see the pair of them back together.'
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In 2021, an exact full-size replica of the Liam MacCarthy Cup in silver plate sold for €9,000 at Fonsie Mealy Auctioneers. The replica was an exact facsimile of the original in all respects except in the use of silver plate (the original is solid silver). The piece had been commissioned by a private collector in the 1980s.
In the same sale, a 1903 All-Ireland Football Championship gold medal (Lot 702: est. €5,000 to €7,000) represents the first of Kerry's 38 All-Ireland Senior Football titles.
The familiar 9ct gold Celtic Cross design has the words 'Eire' and 'Cumann Luith Cleas Gaedhail' on the front and '1903 - All Ireland Football Championship, won by Kerry' on the back.
'The first of anything is always the most desirable,' George Fonsie Mealy says. Kerry won the All-Ireland Football Championship again in 1904 and a gold medal from this match is also in the sale (Lot 703: est. €3,500 to €5,000). Both lots come from the same family, passed down from one of the players on the team.
A rare gold medal awarded to the winners of the 1916-18 Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship (Lot 707: est. €800 to €1,200) represents the historic win of Mooncoin against Tullaroan.
Ireland, at the time, was in turmoil. The 1916 championship game was postponed because of political unrest and final played in Knocktopher in August 1919.
More than 5,000 people attended the game, which ended in a draw. The replay also drew large crowds. The medal was classed as incorporating the years 1917 and 1918, when the sport was disrupted and games could not be played.
The medal is being sold by a family member of one of the players. 'These are emotive pieces,' George Fonsie Mealy says. 'The families are passing them on before their significance gets lost.'
​See fonsiemealy.ie