Two Ógra Sinn Féin members have been arrested in Dublin at an auction of memorabilia and documents relating to Irish independence.
The two men were arrested for public order offences outside the auction rooms of James Adam and Sons and Mealy's Auctioneers on St Stephen's Green.
The men - one in his 30s and the other in 20s - are members of Ógra Sinn Féin who believe the items should be held by the State.
They were part of an organised protest and are understood to have disrupted the auction, shouting slogans during bidding.
Sinn Féin Dublin West TD Seán Crowe described the auction as a disgrace. "The Government should have prevented it happening until they had ascertained the importance of the documents," he said. "If these documents are purchased by private investors they will be lost to future generations forever."
Large crowds attended the auction, which is regarded as the most significant sale of 1916-related documents and memorabilia in Irish history. Some 450 lots, including around 1,000 documents, went under the hammer at 11.30 am and the auction is expected to continue until around 9 pm.
Among the lots at the "Independence Sale" is the earliest autographed manuscript of the first draft of the national anthem A Soldier's Song (Abhrán na bhFiann).It is expected to fetch between €800,000 and €1.2 million.
The document is a folded page with the lyrics by Peadar Kearney written in pencil on both sides. The music, by Paddy Heeney, is written in pencil on a separate sheet and accompanied by a handwritten letter of provenance from Séamus de Búrca, Peadar Kearney's nephew and biographer.
The song was formally adopted as Ireland's national anthem in 1926.
The sale also features previously unseen artefacts of significant historical value.
Other lots of note include the Tricolour believed to have flown from the GPO during the Rising and one of the few surviving copies of the Proclamation.
The sale is being hosted to coincide with the 90th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising and is expected to raise up to €3 million.