Rare Irish WWI Poster Sold In NYC Auction

An extremely rare poster used in 1917 to raise money in America for Irish servicemen who had been injured or disabled in World War I has gone under the hammer in New York.

The poster, which was designed for an organization called the Shamrock Fund, sold for $1,400 at Swann Auction Galleries in Gramercy, Manhattan last Wednesday.

Called "Erin's Appeal to America: Help My Irish Disabled", it was designed by an illustrator called "Jagger" and depicts a wounded soldier, attended by a friend who is appealing to the Statue of Liberty for aid.

The Shamrock Fund was one of many European funds established in New York during the war.

It's not known how much money it raised in New York, but in Ireland subscriptions poured in and enough money was raised to open an Auxiliary hospital in Bray, Co. Wicklow in 1918 specializing in fitting artificial limbs.

In November 1916, the New York Times reported that Lady Kingston from Co. Roscommon had arrived in the city to set up a fund to help TB sufferers and other Irish soldiers injured or disabled in the trenches.

Her appeal was directed at the Irish living in New York "who ought to be glad to do something to help their own people."

The Countess of Kingston had been dispatched by committee in Ireland where fundraising had already been underway for some time.