February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Pierce O’Reilly
One of the swords used by Mel Gibson in the Highland epic "Braveheart" is on its way to Ireland after Dublin financier Dermot Desmond forked out $170,000 for it at a charity auction in New York last week.
"Braveheart" depicts the life and times of slain Scottish patriot William Wallace. Following the murder of his wife by English soldiers, Wallace led Scottish forces in a revolt that escalated into a full-fledged war against English domination.
The Unicef charity auction, which took place at Sotheby’s last week, was in support of AIDS victims in the African countries of Zambia, Zimbabwe and the Ivory Coast.
Gibson donated the 5-foot sword to the auction to support the Unicef project, which works to prevent infected mothers from passing AIDS to their babies.
The charity auction, called "Movie Action for Children," was hosted by actor Liam Neeson.
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Over $400,000 was raised in Manhattan on the night. Online bidding on other items brought the total to over $1 million.
A report in an Irish Sunday newspaper suggested that the "Braveheart" sword bought by Desmond was "a fake" and that the real sword was in a Scottish nightclub club. Auction organizer Maire Quinn told the Echo on Monday that the report was completely untrue.
"We received the sword direct from Mel Gibson’s collection and it’s authenticity has being guaranteed," she said. "This is not a fake."
Quinn went on to say that a number of swords had been produced for the film and that several were in circulation.
Neeson, who is a backer of the AIDS charity, had gathered the lots from Hollywood friends.
"I have never been in this sort of situation before, but I am told this is very, very high for an auction of this type," he said.
"It is hard to sit through all this without getting a knot in your stomach."
The Irish star was delighted at the price fetched by the "Braveheart" sword.
"It was a fantastic price," he said. "Mel is a friend of mine and he knew it would go a high price and it will save a lot of children’s lives."
Desmond would not say why he had purchased the sword, according to a Unicef spokesperson.
A total of 15 lots donated by stars and studios went under the hammer. The memorabilia included the dress worn by Catherine Zeta Jones in the "Mask of Zorro," in which she played opposite Anthony Hopkins, which went for just over £1,250. A shirt worn by Ralph Fiennes in "The English Patient" fetched £1,625, while a birthday phone call from Michael Jackson was sold for £825. Also sold was the whip from the "Indiana Jones" movies, which went for £62,000, while music copy for the Harry Potter movie fetched £6,250.
Desmond’s son Ross also availed of a piece of movie history when he paid almost £46,000 for the light saber Neeson used as Qui-Gon Jinn in "Star Wars, The Phantom Menace."
All proceeds from Movie Action for Children go to Unicef’s Mother to Child HIV/AIDS Transmission Program. The rapid spread of AIDS threatens to reverse years of progress in child survival. Results of a recent study indicate that a low-cost drug that can achieve a superior reduction in mother-to-child transmission of AIDS with only a small dose to the mother and a single dose to the child. The cost for each mother/child pair is approximately $4. Despite the low cost of the treatment, Unicef officials say they do not have enough funds to develop this program to the extent that is needed.
Neeson who has worked with UNICEF since 1996, said he was motivated to get involved when he saw how some children get the abuses.
"My involvement also coincided with becoming a parent and the desire to use my celebrity to benefit other children’s lives", he said. "From the beginning, I’ve tried to get involved in projects that make a noticeable impact and raise a significant amount of money. It seems to be the best use of my time is in cooperation with UNICEF. We can make a real difference to children’s lives."
The executive director of Unicef Ireland, Mary Quinn, said that her admiration for the people of Africa increases with each visit to the country.
"On my last visit to Zambia, in October 2000, I spoke at length with a young pregnant woman who had found out that day of her HIV-positive status," Quinn said. "Her two previous children had died before they reached the age of 1, yet she spoke with such dignity about her loss, and the desire to stop the same fate befalling her unborn child."
Since 1946, Unicef, the United Nations Children’s Fund, has been working to save and improve the lives of children throughout the world. As the only United Nations agency with the mandate to look after children’s survival, development, protection and participation, Unicef is the voice for children on the international stage.
Unicef is working in more than 160 countries with governments, other UN agencies and non-governmental organiszations. Together with these partners, it helps devise programs that meet the needs of children in their own communities.