'Exceptionally rare' Limerick pig sells for €1800 at auction

LIMERICK is renowned for its bacon be it in meat form or other. 

A rare pine pig was sold at auction fetching a staggering €1800 which according to the auction house was not surprising given its historical beginnings. 

“It's a shop display model. It was in a butcher shop according to the family of the people that were selling it. And it's carved from one piece of pine and it's a beautiful piece. We reckon it's late 19th century, so late Victorian, last quarter of the 19th century,” Philip Sheppard said. 

The life size sculpture would have hung from the ceiling in one of Limerick’s many famous butchers and this particular piece still has two of the original forged links intact. 

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Standing at an astonishing 58cm tall, the pig was on display at Sheppard's Irish Auction House in Durrow before going on sale with Philip telling the Limerick Leader that it took “pride of place in the front'' with many people admiring it. 

“This is exceptionally rare. It's a gorgeous thing to have and it's a piece of history as well and the whole connection with the Limerick ham thing as well. I thought that was good,” he added.

While it originated in the Treaty County, this eye-catching piece made its way to Ulster where one family had been collecting items for two generations before going to auction.  

The Laois auction house is very familiar with Limerick and its history with bacon as it has also sold a number of posters that were once used to advertise the many pig factories in the City.