Irish Crown Jewels

No, he did not.

Because on the 6th of July, 1907, Sir Arthur Vickers, Ulster King of Arms, discovers that the so-called Irish Crown Jewels, for which he is solely responsible, are missing from a safe.

A safe that he has allowed to be stored not in the purpose-built strongroom, but in the library of his offices, where he regularly shows them off to visitors.

King Edward VII, due to visit in four days, is less than happy and is looking for someone to blame.

He refused to resign and he demanded a public inquiry.

You can imagine this is getting international traction.

Although they're little remembered today, the Irish jewels or the Irish crown jewels were an international story.

This was as good as if the actual crown jewels had been nicked in London.

Monday the 8th of July, 1907.

The regalia of the Order of St. Patrick, aka the Irish Crown Jewels, valued at over £3 million today, have disappeared from a safe in the Bedford Tower of Dublin Castle.

It is suspected that the thieves belonged to the same party which successfully carried off the Ascot Gold Cup and the two gold nuggets from the South African exhibition.

The newspapers are quick to offer potential theories and suspects, but on the eve of a king's visit and with his life's work on the line, the man responsible for their safekeeping is paralysed with panic and looking for anyone else to blame.

Two years before the theft.

But one of the things he had done between 1903 and 1905, he revised the statutes of the Order of St. Patrick.

William Durham, curator at Dublin Castle, is talking about Sir Arthur Vickers, Ulster King of Arms, the man in charge of researching genealogy and coats of arms for wealthy families, and is responsible for keeping the Irish crown jewels safe.

The statutes are effectively the rules and the guidelines of how things should be done.

I'm Sarah McGlinchey and this is The Mystery of The King, The Thief and The Fall Guy, Episode 1, Security Breach.

Did you know there was such a thing as Irish Crown Jewels? Me neither, until a few months ago.

But they didn't belong to Brian Burrow, or Adrena Heron, or any of the other ancient High Kings of Ireland.

So they are crown jewels in the sense that they have come from the English king.

Because, of course, England ruled Ireland for centuries.

Author and historian Miles Dungan has researched this case for years.

The Irish crown jewels were the insignia of the Order of St Patrick.

There are titles and roles involved in this story that could get a bit confusing, so I'll try to explain them as simply as I can as we go along.

Anyway, I was talking about the Office of Arms moving to Bedford Tower.

Because the office was also the depository of the Irish Crown Jewels, the refurbishment there in anticipation of the move had included the addition of a strong room.

You know, a room that's been reinforced with security features like thick walls that are usually fireproof, bomb-proof, and burglar-proof.

In this case, the door to that room was made of steel and weighed a couple of tons, all with the express purpose of keeping a handful of royal family jewels in safe hands.

The jewels themselves were also born of illustriousness.

R.L. Weston, host of History Calling, explains

"The Irish Crown Jewels were the insignia of the Chivalric Order of St. Patrick, which had been founded in 1783 as a counterpart to the English Order of the Garter and the Scottish Order of the Thistle."

You should know that the Irish Crown Jewels were in no way comparable to the more famous British crown jewels, whose value is somewhere between $4 and $6 billion.