O’REILLYS The Betty Ann Norton Collection 6th - 8th April 2022

2 Greetings, In August of 2018, over tea and cake in her airy kitchen in Dun Laoghaire, Betty Ann and I talked about the contents of her home ‘Belcamp’ after her day. She told me of her desire of leaving a legacy to her speech and drama school. I met Betty Ann several times in her later life, she had not changed a bit, the same regal stance and trained voice with perfect diction and elocution, just as I remembered when I was her pupil in Harcour t St. for ty-five years earlier. I explained my gratitude to her and the late Michael for the confidence and poise that their combined teaching had given me, skills which I have used regularly for rostrum-selling, public speaking and previously amateur dramatics with the Rathmichael players. I shared with her my dear mother’s determination in getting me to drama class on time. Not exactly an easy task in the late 1970’s prior to N11 and M50 motorways. Our journey in my mother’s Fiat seemed to take an age as we travelled through, rather than by-pass Bray, Shankill, Cabinteely and Stillorgan from Delgany in CountyWicklow. Betty Ann laughed and said that my mother’s endeavors had paid off. I noticed on that occasion, the large Amethyst Ring (lot 60) which had caught my eye years earlier and recalled very vividly Michael’s Grecian gold ring (lot 46) when she showed me her jewellery collection. It never ceases to amaze me how one can remember those minute details decades apar t. My final meeting with Betty Ann was like the first, it was a joy to be around someone with such enthusiasm for life and its progress. The assembly of this sale has been a great pleasure and an honor and has given me a deep sense of nostalgia for my time at Betty Ann’s school. I would like to thank her brother Jim and his wife Mary for all their help and assistance, together with our own team here at O’Reilly’s especially Ethna and Hannah who have worked extremely hard to bring this sale to the market. I do hope that you enjoy the collection and wish you well at the auction. I would also like to wish continued success to the school in the future. Yours Sincerely, M.D Bernon Chairman, O’Reilly’s Auction Rooms