THE DEALERS
George Stacpoole, well-known antique dealer and President of the Irish Antique Dealers Association, and Niall Mullen, who grew up in the antiques trade and now specialises in Art Deco.
Their challenge is to make sure that their teams heed their advice and don’t lose their heads when the bidding begins!
THE TEAMS
James Heary and John Grant from the Kells Musical and Dramatic Society are George’s team this week. James, an agricultural contractor and John, a retired postman are both big fans of auctions. They often buy props for their stage productions at auction so hope they will be able to spot a bargain.
Niall’s team are two ladies from Kells, Renee Clarke who owns and runs a B&B in Teltown, and Pauline Mullan who has just retired from the B&B business and is now in the fashion business. They have both furnished their houses with antique furniture over the years, finding lots of pieces at auctions around the country. They hope their experience will help them unearth some treasures in Kells.
Their challenge is to buy items at today’s sale that can be sold on to make a profit.
THE AUCTION
Ushers auction rooms in Kells, Co Meath is the location for this week’s sale. Oliver and his wife Aideen have been running auctions in Kells for over 20 years. Their premises is a converted brewery where Ireland’s first lager, Regal, was brewed in the 1930s. It was taken over by Guinness in the 1950s and was rebranded as HARP. The building was eventually purchased by the Ushers and is now home to their monthly auctions.