IRELAND — A 19th-Century dildo has finally made its way home to Ireland thanks to a quick-thinking online sex shop entrepreneur and activist — with significant help from "Irish Twitter."
Shawna Scott, the owner of Sex Siopa, leapt into action when the vintage dildo — reportedly more than 130 years old and carved from ivory — came up for auction this week.
The item, believed to have been carved in China, and imported to Ireland as a gift from a generous husband to his wife, first landed on Scott’s radar in 2017.
However, it was sold to a collector from the United States before she could nab it. She felt the item deserved to stay in the country.
“It made my heart sink when it was sold. It just seemed like such an important part of Irish sexual history,” Scott told the Irish Times. “Sometimes I think with Irish history, unless something is tied to the famine or 1916 it gets a little forgotten or re-prioritized.”
Jump-cut to earlier this week, when a customer alerted Scott that the dildo appeared to be on the market once again, prompting what she described as “an Indiana Jones moment.”
Unfortunately, she didn’t have the funds to secure a bid comparable to what the dildo had fetched two years earlier. Scott took to Twitter to ask for help with just hours to spare.
“In what might just be the coolest and most bizarre thing to happen on social media, ‘Irish Twitter’ banded together to buy a 130-year-old dildo — or ‘companion,’ as it was being advertised on the auction site,” wrote the Irish Post. This time, the winning bid was approximately €620.
“There was so much going in that time period. People were literally starving to death and meanwhile someone was bringing this home for their spouse,” said Scott. “I always get asked about how repressed we are in Ireland. I think we’re much more liberal than we think we are.”
Scott’s plucky adventure has generated worldwide headlines; she attributes her success to a “massive group effort from a load of Irish history nerds and ridin’ enthusiasts.” She is searching for a museum to give the device a permanent home.
Follow the continuing adventures of the 130-year-old Irish dildo on Scott’s Twitter profile.
FOLKS! WE DID IT! WE WON THE DILDO FOR IRELAND!!!!!!! ????????
— Sex Siopa (@SexSiopa) July 29, 2019
