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King George III instituted the Illustrious Order of St. Patrick in 1783. The 'Illustrious Order of St. Patrick' was the Irish equivalent of the English Order of the Garter and the Scottish Order of the Thistle. The Irish Crown Jewels were the insignia of the Order, and consisted of two items: a star, and a badge, each 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 strong room. The new safe was too large for the doorway to the strong room, and Arthur Vicars, the Officer of Arms of Dublin CastleDublin Castle in Dublin, Ireland was the seat of British rule in Ireland until 1922. The building itself mainly dates from eighteenth century, though a castle has stood on the site since the days of King John, the first Lord of Ireland''. The Castle serve, 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 VIIEdward VII Albert Edward ( 9 November 1841 6 May 1910) was the first British monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. As well as being the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the British dominions beyond the Sea, Edward was also and Queen AlexandraAlexandra of Denmark ( December 1 1844 November 20 1925) was queen consort of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom 1901- 1910. Prior to that, she was Princess of Wales from 1863 to 1901 the longest any woman has ever held that title. In many ways, Alexan. The theft is reported to have angered the King (who allegedly exclaimed "I want my jewels") but the visit went ahead.

Vicars refused to resign his position as Officer of Arms, and similarly refused to appear at a Viceregal Commission into the theft (the Commission did not possess powers to subpoenaA subpoena (pronounced 'suh-pee-nuh') is a writ commanding a person to appear under penalty (from Latin). It is used to compel the testimony of witnesses in a trial. Usually it can be issued by a judge or by the lawyer representing the plaintiff or the de witnessThis page is about witnesses in law courts. The word witness can also mean A band called Witness. A rapper called Witness. A witness is someone who has first-hand knowledge about a crime or dramatic event through their senses (e. seeing, hearing, smellinges) held from 10 January 19081908 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). Events January-February January 1 A ball signifying New Year's Day drops in New York City's Times Square for the first time January 8 A train collision occurs in the Park Avenue T. Vicars argued for a public royal inquiry in lieu of the commission, and publicly accused his second in command, Francis Shackleton , of the theft, who was suspected of being blackmailed on account of his homosexuality, homosexual behaviour being a criminal offence at the time.¹ 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'. Vicars met a sad end in disgrace: on 14 April 1921 he was shot dead by IRA militia. The commission's report has been the subject of critical review in recent times (see external link, below) and there has been recent calls in the Republic of Ireland for an centennial enquiry into the crime.

It is believed that the Irish Crown Jewels have never been recovered. It has been rumoured that in 1927 the Irish Crown Jewels were offered for sale to the Irish Free State for £5000 and that they were bought back on then prime minister W.T. Cosgrave's orders, with the instructions that the fact that the Irish state owned them was not to be revealed, for fear of criticism from republicans and because of the tight budgetary situation in the Irish Free State. However an extensive search in the Irish National Archives has failed to find any evidence that they were bought or if so, what happened to them subsequently. (The Irish state until the 1940s did have some of the Russian Crown Jewels which were used as collateral for a loan given to the Russian Republic by the Irish Republic in or around 1920. It is possible the rumour about the state possessing the Irish Crown Jewels grew because it was known that some crown jewels were stored in Government Buildings in Dublin, people naturally presuming that they must be the Irish crown jewels.)²

The Irish Executive Council under W.T. Cosgrave chose not to keep appointing people to the Order when the Irish Free State left the United Kingdom in 1922. Since then, only two people have been appointed to the Order. Both were members of the Royal Family. The then Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VIII and later Duke of Windsor) was appointed with the agreement of W.T. Cosgrave in 1928 while his younger brother, Henry, Duke of Gloucester was appointed with Eamon de Valera's agreement in 1934. The Duke of Gloucester at his death in 1974 was the last surviving member of the Order. It has however never actually been abolished and its resurrection has been discussed in Irish government circles on a number of occasions.