The Mayo businessman has done our nation an incredible service. The history of Ireland was his passion and during his lifetime he amassed an extraordinary collection of unique documents. On his death he had one wish . . . that his labour of love be donated to the state.

It is fitting that this autumn, on the 90th anniversary of 1916, the Jackie Clarke Library will open in Ballina, Co Mayo, housing his astonishing collection of over 15,000 items relating to hundreds of years of Irish history.

Historian Sinead McCoole says the library will bring scholars from the US and Europe to study and research in a market town on the western seaboard of Ireland.

Quietly and systematically Jackie Clarke amassed a treasure trove of memorabilia.

His wife recalls how dealers would contact him from all over Europe such was his reputation. Way back, when his classmates at Blackrock College were playing rugby, the young Clarke was already scouring bookshops for items of interest.

Sinead McCoole recalls her excitement at opening three locked rooms in his house after his death to discover boxes stacked sky high. It took her nine months to sort through 400 years of Irish history. In one envelope she found the cockade worn in Wolfe Tone's hat during his trial for treason in 1798. And of the five handwritten letters from Wolfe Tone known to exist, two are in the Clarke collection.

It is somewhat ironic that news of the extent of the Clarke collection comes as two of Ireland's leading auction houses prepare to host sales of what have been described as the most significant unseen documents of serious historical importance.

'The Irish History Sale' by Whytes takes place at the RDS today, and next Wednesday Adam's and Mealy's join forces to auction documents and memorabilia from over 200 years of the struggle for Irish independence. Among the many items going under the hammer are the original handwritten words and music of our national anthem. The pieces of paper containing 'Amhran na bhFiann', written by Peader Kearney in 1907 have a guide price of 1.2m.

There are concerns that this irreplaceable item may well be bought by a collector living outside Ireland.

It would be unrealistic to expect the state to snap up every item of historical importance that comes up for sale, but there is something distasteful about items of serious significance leaving our shores. All the great nations of the world proudly display their heritage in monuments and museums and Ireland's compelling and stirring history is worth preserving.

It is a shame that there is not some mechanism written into our legislation that would compel the government to purchase rare and priceless historical material when it comes up for sale. We have wasted untold resources on debacles like electronic voting and failed computer systems. While we warmly welcome the generous donation by the Clarke family of Jackie Clarke's collection, this should not be the only way to preserve tracts of our history.