THE ALL BLACK jersey worn by Ramelton born Dave Gallaher in the 1905 Original’s Tour against Wales fetched £180,000 (€243,000) at an auction on Friday.
The shirt, which had been expected to fetch £20,000-£40,000, went under the hammer at the Roger Jones & Co saleroom in Cardiff and was sold to a British-based bidder.
The 1905 New Zealand team were the first from the country to tour outside of Australasia and created marvellous excitement, winning all but one of their 35 matches – the 3-0 loss to Wales in Cardiff.
The captain of the All Blacks, Gallaher (pictured above), was born in Ramelton in 1873 before his family emigrated.
Letterkenny RFC’s home pitch was christened ‘Dave Gallaher Memorial Park’ in 2005 by a delegation of touring All Blacks. Last week, Gallaher’s great grand-niece visited the ground.
Gallaher was later to die in combat during the First World War, swapped the shirt with Wales captain Gwyn Nicholls, who gave it to an employee of his laundry company.
Dave Gallaher 1905 All Blacks jersey sells for £180,000. http://t.co/52MTlYjw74 pic.twitter.com/gnlc1RStJj
— Swansea Libraries (@LibraryLine) October 9, 2015
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