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Drama on 4: The Mystery of the Irish Crown Jewels

The Mystery of the Irish Crown Jewels

01/06/2016

BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, The Mystery of the Irish Crown Jewels

Left in the care of Arthur Vicars, the jewels were stolen in 1907 and never seen again.

Who stole the Irish Crown Jewels? Was it Unionists attempting to derail Home Rule? Or Republicans trying to embarrass the Crown? The answer remains a mystery to this day.

The theft of the Irish Crown Jewels is a mystery that goes back over a century and remains unsolved. The Jewels were not the equivalent of the English Crown Jewels, but rather the insignia of the Order of St. Patrick, the British Order of Chivalry associated with Ireland. They disappeared in June 1907.

Supposed to have been assembled from diamonds belonging to Queen Charlotte, they were presented to the Order by King William IV in 1831.
The Jewels, valued at $250, 000 were stolen from a safe located in the Office of the Ulster King of Arms, in the shadow of the then Detective Headquarters in Dublin Castle. 

Blame for the theft of the Jewels has been laid on a number of suspects with varying motives. A Viceregal investigation into the theft in early 1908 leaves no doubt that whether or not he stole the jewels, the blame for their theft lay with the then King of Arms, Arthur Vicars. Known to take the jewels from their safe on regular occasions, mainly when entertaining guests, he is said to have once awoken from a drunken slumber with them placed around his neck.

Other theories suggest both that the Jewels were stolen by Unionists in order to derail Home Rule, or by Republicans in order to embarrass the occupying Crown Forces. What is known, however, is that the jewels were never found...

Writer ..... Sean Moffatt
Director ..... Eoin O'Callaghan
Producer ..... Eoin O'Callaghan.

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