This collection of paintings by artist Graham Knuttel was commissioned in 2000 for newspaper proprietor Robin Webb, who, in the run up to the millennium, thought it would be a good idea to have a painting of every taoiseach since the accession of the free state.

"We didn't know whether Graham Knuttel would do them or not and then his agent came back and told us under no circumstances would he take on such a stuffy commission, " recalled Webb.

"But six or seven months later he had a change of heart and said he would do it as long as he could include additional innuendos."

Knuttel, whose has celebrity fans in Sylvester Stallone, Bono and Eddie Jordan, produced taoisigh na h�ireann in lifesize oil paintings full of sly observations on the 11 men's political lives.

Bertie Ahern is portrayed in an anorak outside Fagan's Pub in Drumcondra, clutching a paper with the headline: "The most cunning, the most devious of them all."

Ahern's predecessor, John Bruton, is painted in a shoe shop with a horrified mother and child standing by - an allusion to his failed attempt to put VAT on children's shoes.

Garret FitzGerald is shown to be a 'mummy's boy' surrounded by folders labelled "facts, facts and more facts" and a lunch box to signify how his life was dominated by women.

"My personal favourite is Charles Haughey, " said Knuttel, who is currently working on a garden design with Diarmuid Gavin. The Boss is portrayed in a gold frame, with 'Le Roi' written on it, wearing a dictator's uniform and holding a brown envelope under his arm. "I had a lot of fun with that one."

In the portrait of all the taoisigh standing outside the D�il, Knuttel left a space so he can paint in whoever is elected the next taoiseach of Ireland. "It will have to be negotiated with whoever buys the collection, " he said. "But I think I would enjoy painting Pat Rabbitte."

Knuttel hopes that the paintings will go somewhere open to the public. "I'd love them to be somewhere where people can go and see them, " he said.

"Although they've travelled around Ireland, they haven't really been seen by the general public."

The paintings are being auctioned as a collection next Sunday at Mullen's, Laurel Park, near Bray. While the guide price is between Euro250,000 and Euro400,000, Webb is hoping they will go for much more.

"The main reason I am selling them is because they have been sitting in my office since they came back from touring the country and it has become quite apparent that these paintings need to be out in the open, " he said. "Originally they were intended for my house but they are all so big that it soon became clear that they would never fit in my humble abode. It's silly having them stuck in an office so it's best to sell them."

Webb offered to sell the paintings to the Office of Public Works, thinking they might be interested in owning portraits of the taoisigh but they declined, saying it would be unfitting to own paintings that portray the country's leaders in an often unflattering light. However, several other bidders have expressed interest in the coming auction.

"I'll miss them, " said Webb. "They took two-and-a-half years to complete, so I've known them for seven years, which is quite a long relationship. It would be nice if they are put somewhere where I can visit them every week."