Newspapers are often the first casualty of a clear-out. They’re easily identifiable as unprepossessing clutter and, being recyclable, can be disposed of without guilt. But how many chapters of Irish history have been thrown away without a cursory glance?
If you’re sorting through old newspapers, spare a moment to cut the string and check the contents. Until relatively recently, newspapers, including regional newspapers, were the only way people could receive the news. Many of them are interesting, some of them are rare, and a few of them are very valuable indeed. “They were the kind of thing that was just thrown away,” auctioneer George Fonsie Mealy says.