Gambler’s antiques worth €200k to go under the hammer
HUNDREDS of antiques from a mansion formerly owned by notorious gambler Barney Curley are available for viewing before going under the hammer.
Punters can see the entire contents of Middleton Park House before they are auctioned this week.
The almost 800 lots in the mid19th century mansion – including an extravagant chair and Waterford Crystal glassware – are worth around €200,000.
It comes six months after the 35,000 sq ft home was sold.
The house in Castletown-Geoghegan, Co. Westmeath, is well known since the 1980s when its owner, racehorse trainer and gambler Mr Curley, raffled the property.
He was handed a prison term for promoting an illegal lottery but this was overturned on appeal. Mr Curley died in 2021
During the 1930s and 1940s, the mansion hosted a series of celebrities, including American actress Rita Hayworth.
‘The house has been tastefully decorated in a quirky, oversized style,’ said Niall Mullen, the antiques dealer cataloguing the collection.
‘Almost all of the items are oversized. This was to fill out the house as it is such a big space that normal furniture would look out of place.
‘For example, a chair with a big golden eagle on top of it is 2.4 metres high. ‘Many of the contents appearing at this auction would fit perfectly in a hotel or suit someone with a large country home.’
Among the items is one of five glass replicas of the Sam Maguire Cup, another of which was presented to former US president Bill Clinton. Waterford Crystal glassware, art, and vernacular and garden furniture also feature.
The collection can be viewed by the public today and tomorrow from 10am to 5pm.
The auction is in Oldcastle, Co. Meath, on Wednesday and Thursday from 5pm.