Everything about The Irish Crown Jewels totally explained
The
Irish Crown Jewels were heavily jewelled insignia of the
Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick. They were worn by the sovereign at the installation of knights of that order, the Irish equivalent of the English
Order of the Garter and the Scottish
Order of the Thistle. Their
theft from
Dublin Castle in 1907 remains unsolved.
History
King
George III instituted the Order of St Patrick in 1783. Among the insignia of a knight were a star and a badge; in the royal set of the insignia these were composed of
rubies,
emeralds and
Brazilian
diamonds.
In 1903, the jewels were transferred to a safe, which was to be placed in the newly constructed strongroom. The new safe was too large for the doorway to the strongroom, and
Arthur Vicars, the Officer of Arms of Dublin Castle, instead stored the jewels in his office. Seven latch keys to the door of the Office of Arms were held by Vicars and his staff, and two keys to the safe containing the insignia were both in the custody of Vicars.
The jewels were discovered missing on
6 July 1907, four days before the state visit of King
Edward VII and Queen
Alexandra. The theft is reported to have angered the King, but the visit went ahead.
Vicars refused to resign his position, and similarly refused to appear at a Viceregal Commission into the theft (the commission didn't possess powers to
subpoena witnesses) held from
10 January 1908. Vicars argued for a public royal inquiry in lieu of the commission, and publicly accused his second in command, Francis Shackleton, of the theft (Francis was the brother of the explorer
Ernest Shackleton). Shackleton was exonerated in the commission's report, and Vicars was found to have "not exercise[d] due vigilance or proper care as the custodian of the regalia". Arthur Vicars was shot dead by the
IRA on
14 April 1921.
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