Since it was acquired in 1970, The Goose Girl has been one of the most popular paintings in the National Gallery of Ireland. For years it was attributed to Irish artist William John Leech but in the 1990s it was discovered, instead, to be by English artist Stanley Royle (1888-1961). But the embarrassing reclassification of the painting as English had no impact on its popularity with visitors to the gallery.

In 2012, another painting by Royle, Driving Out The Flock, turned up in a house in the Dublin suburb of Churchtown and sold, in a De Veres auction, for €62,000 – way above its estimate of €14,000-€18,000. On November 11th, Adam's in St Stephen's Green will auction another painting by the artist which has turned up in Ireland entitled Study for October Morning, Church Warsop, Nottinghamshire, with an estimate of just €2,000-€3,000. It goes on view on Sunday week, November 9th.