The 69 lots, which included previously unseen works by painters Jack B Yeats and Louis Le Brocquy, is considered to be among the finest  privately owned art collections in the country. The collection went on display in Cork for the first time in October.

Mary Rose O’Driscoll, daughter of Dr JB Kearney, said her family were thrilled with this weeks sale, but admitted the sale brought on mixed emotions. “We’re absolutely delighted. It was our fathers passion and as a result it was very much a part of our lives. We had mixed emotions of course, because we were sad to see it go.

“It was never about the money,” she continued. “It was a part of our childhood, so we couldn’t put a price on the collection. Our father collected art for the love of it, and we would hope the collection is as much appreciated by the buyers as it was by our family. We were particularly happy because we got to display the collection before selling it. There was a really great turnout which pleased us because we wanted the people of Cork to see this tremendous body of work. It would have pleased our father.”

James O’Halloran, Managing Director of James Adam Auctioneers Adam’s, said, “This collection of highly valuable Irish art has exceeded all expectations this evening reaching a soaring total and achieving new Irish records for a number of superb Irish artists. The quality of the collection is, arguably, on a par with museum standards and is highly representative of 20th century Irish art history. We feel extremely privileged to have been asked to handle the sale of such a prestigious portfolio of artwork and are delighted with the highly successful end result for the Kearney family.”

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