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The Order of St Patrick was founded by King George III in 1783 as a means of rewarding or gaining support in the Irish Parliament. Francis, third Earl of Kilmorey, of Mourne Park, near Kilkeel, was MP for Newry from 1871 to 1874 and was elected to the House of Lords six years later. In 1888, the Earl wrote to the Prince of Wales pressing his claim for inclusion in this illustrious order of chivalry.
‘May I venture to ask Your Royal Highness to use your powerful influence…in securing for me the vacancy in the Order of St Patrick … I have consistently supported my party for 20 years in both Houses, I am the holder of an Irish title, dating from the time of Charles II. I am one of the largest land proprietors in Ireland, and Your Royal Highness knows an active member of society on both sides of the channel. This is the only distinction I can aspire to.’
The Prince of Wales passed the letter on to the Prime Minister, the Marquess of Salisbury, asking for the Earl’s name to be considered, but Francis had to wait 2 years before he was invested in the Order in 1890.
For important occasions, such as Coronations and investitures of new members of the Order, Knights of St Patrick wore elaborate vestments:
The Earl of Kilmorey’s mantle, on display in Newry & Mourne Museum, is a blue robe lined with white silk lining, with gold and blue silk cordons with large tassels, and a detachable hood. The robes had to be made in Ireland from silk or satin ‘wrought in Ireland’. A metal star of the Order is attached to the mantle made by Robinson & Steel of Dawson Street, Dublin.
The Theft of the Irish Crown Jewels
On 6 July 1907, four days before King Edward VII was due to visit Ireland to conduct the investiture of Lord Castletown, the insignia of the Grand Master of the Order of St Patrick, known as the Irish Crown Jewels, were declared missing. The star, badge, and collar featuring Brazilian diamonds together with emeralds and rubies would be valued at over £4 million today.
The insignia was held in Dublin Castle, under the protection of the Ulster King of Arms, Sir Arthur Vicars. Unfortunately, he was known to be ‘a notoriously forgetful and casual sort of creature’ with some rather dubious friends.
Some Members of Parliament blamed Unionists who were seeking to embarrass Irish nationalists. Others blamed Irish nationalists. It was even claimed that the Royal Household had staged the robbery to secure the jewels before any Home Rule bill was enacted.
Vicars accused Francis Shackleton, Dublin Herald at Arms and brother of the Antarctic explorer Ernest. Shackleton, a socialite constantly short of money was thought to have stolen the jewels with the help of Captain Richard Howard Gorges. They allegedly plied Vicars with whiskey and then removed the safe key from his pocket. Shackleton allegedly transported the jewels to Amsterdam where he sold them for £20,000 (about £1.5 million today). Pierce O’Mahoney, the Irish Nationalist politician and Vicars’ half-brother, claimed that the men escaped prosecution due to Shackleton threatening to expose “discreditable doings" - he and Gorges were in a relationship at a time when homosexuality was illegal. A public trial would have involved drawing attention to their friends in the highest echelon of British and Irish society, including the Duke of Argyll, who was married to the King’s own sister. The Scotland Yard report was supressed, and no charges were ever brought.
Vicars was desperate to prove his innocence and recover the jewels, going so far as to enlist the help of psychics. His distant relative Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, even offered his services.
Frank Shackleton went on to defraud his friend, the sculptor Lord Ronald Gower, of over £60,000 (almost £5 million today,) and was eventually prosecuted and imprisoned, but only for defrauding another friend of a much smaller sum. It is suspected that this was due to the British Government's desire not to provoke Shackleton into naming names.
Sir Arthur Vicars was dismissed from his post by the king and was later shot as an alleged informer by the Irish Republican Army in 1921.
The jewels have never been found.
For more information on objects in the Museum's collections visit www.visitmournemountains.co.uk/
Newry & Mourne Museum is open from Tuesday to Saturday, 10.00am - 4.30pm.
Free tours are available on Wednesdays at 2.00 pm, which must be booked in advance by calling their Education Officer at 0330 137 4422.
