Ireland has its own set of Crown Jewels dating back to the 19th century – but no one knows where they are.
These jewels, officially known as Jewels Belonging to the Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick were given to the Irish in 1831 by King William IV.
“They were gifted specifically so [the King] was represented in Ireland,” Dublin Castle Curator William Durham told Moncrieff.
The monarch wore the jewels when anointing someone to the Order of St Patrick, the Irish version of the Order of the Garter.
“Occasionally when the monarch would come over, they would don them at the parties and balls here,” Mr Durham said.
Arthur Vicars was tasked with housing the jewels in Dublin Castle – but his caretaking of them only led to their theft.
2C2B3TN Bedford Tower At Dublin Castle Ireland Where The Irish Crown Jewels Were Stolen From“I kind of feel sorry for Vicars,” Mr Durham said. “He’s a comic-tragic figure.”
“He was the Ulster King of Arms, which was effectively the Herald – he was in charge of the jewels and organising ceremonies.”
“When he moved into his new office [in Bedford Castle] in 1903, the safe [housing the jewels] he had in his old office wouldn't fit into the strongroom that he had purposely built.
The library safe
Sir Vicars decided the Irish Crown Jewels would be kept in his new library until a suitable extension could be made to the strongroom.
While the safe housing the Crown Jewels were kept in Sir Vicars’ library, there were only two keys in existence to open the safe – one Sir Vicars always had and one in his home in Clonsky.
Despite this, the jewels were eventually stolen in 1907 from Dublin Castle, along with the collars of five knights in the order.
Theft
“The people who made the safe... they came in and took the mechanism apart, and they said it has to be one of the original keys that was used to open the safe,” Mr Durham said.
Sir Vicars, however, was not concerned about the theft and was recorded saying he wouldn’t be surprised if the jewels were “returned by post the following evening”.
“A couple years previously, someone actually had got [Sir Vicars] drunk, taken the jewels, and posted them back to him the following morning,” Mr Durham said.
Investigations
An investigation soon followed, including one woman who claimed her daughter had a vision the jewels were behind a gravestone – and authorities actually checked.
Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a distant cousin of Sir Vicars and even joined the investigation himself to no avail – though it is believed that the jewels inspired one of Sir Conan Doyle’s books.
“Even the great brain behind Sherlock Holmes wasn't able to recover them,” Mr Durham said.
Several suspects emerged – but all alibis were tight, and the jewels were never found. If they were discovered today, they would likely be worth over €5 million.
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