This week, almost 500 items on Irish republican history will go under the hammer at an auction entitled 'Independence in Dublin'. By contrast, the Jackie Clarke collection is being given to the state for free. This act of generosity by the Clarke family fulfils the wishes of Jackie Clarke who, according to his family, collected so that all strands of Irish history might be assessed by historians in the future.

"He had a great passion for history. It wasn't about money, " his widow, Ann Clarke, told the Sunday Tribune. "Jackie was an idealist who wasn't interested in money. It was his wish that the material go to a library for the people of Co Mayo and for the people of Ireland."

Clarke was born in March 1928, the eldest o f three children of a well-to-do business family. After his studies at Blackrock College he returned to Ballina and set up a fish processing firm. His was one of the first outlets in Ireland to successfully smoke salmon and he developed a lucrative export business to the US. The company is still trading today.

His father had been a member of Ballina UDC and Mayo county council from the 1930s until his death in 1957. Jackie followed his father into politics and served for many years on Ballina UDC.

He was initially an independent councillor but later represented Sinn Fein. At the local elections in 2004, his son Peter was elected as a Sinn Fein representative on the UDC. Clarke was active in republican politics and was a close friend of former Sinn Fein president and IRA leader Ruairi O Bradaigh, who described him as "an exceptional man".

By the time of his death, Clarke's collection numbered some 15,000 items.

Nobody, not even his family, knew its vastness and importance. "The house was full of paper. It was full of books.

They were in every room, even in the bedroom, " said Ann Clarke.

He bought a home movie camera at a time when such equipment was rare.

With this he filmed many republican commemorations and meetings from the 1950s onwards. This material was recently given to the Irish Film Institute.

Today, memorabilia from Ireland's republican past sells for high prices.

Clarke, however, was collecting when few people were interested in it. He acquired material in Ireland, England and Europe. A dealer from the Netherlands was the source for many of his rare books . "Dealers would ring him up and say 'I have this book or that' and he'd say 'I'm interested in that', " Ann recalled.

In 1993, he acquired an original copy of the 1916 Proclamation. "It was his pride and joy. He called it the 'holy grail'.

He was stuck for words that he had a copy of the proclamation."

Jackie Clarke died in October 2000 at the age of 74.