Little interest in Mowlam piece

The Tyrone Crystal heavyweight piece, which is embossed with a picture of the Limavady factory at the foot of Binevenagh mountain, clocked up over 120 views but just five bids during its ten day appearance on Ebay. The item was put up for auction by a seller in Faversham, England who purchased a large collection of items from the estate of the late politician and her husband Jon Norton. The former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland was presented the piece on September 27, 1997 after she officially opened Seagate Technology Media here in the town. The piece is believed to have been bought by a collector. 55-year-old Marjorie 'Mo' Mowlam died in 2005. She was admitted to hospital following a fall at home and never regained consciousness. She had previously suffered a brain tumour. The seller of the rare piece, which was made by Tyrone Crystal who just announced the company's closure, described the politician as one of the country's instigators in the peace process.

It sated: "Mowlam will be remembered for her toughness and courage, as well as her persistence and good humour. She was affable and straightforward and able to talk to anyone. She gained an enormous amount of public popularity and support for her work in Northern Ireland, by handling what was arguably one of the most dangerous and challenging jobs in government. She was unafraid and willing to talk face-to-face with terrorists, her modus operandi being to try to bring two sides together, not by imposing solutions made by others, but by listening to what the people involved actually wanted. In terms of Irish politics, this standpoint was rather refreshing and went a long way towards the building of a peace process that has endured for more than a decade."