![Arthur Vicars](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Arthur_Vicars.jpg)
Sir Arthur Edward Vicars,
KCVO (27 July 1862 – 14 April 1921), was a genealogist and heraldic expert. He was appointed
Ulster King of Arms
Norroy and Ulster King of Arms is the Provincial King of Arms at the College of Heralds with jurisdiction over England north of the Trent and Northern Ireland. The two offices of Norroy and Ulster were formerly separate. Norroy King of Arms is th ...
in 1893, but was removed from the post in 1908 following the theft of the
Irish Crown Jewels
The Jewels Belonging to the Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick, commonly called the Irish Crown Jewels or State Jewels of Ireland, were the heavily jewelled star and badge regalia created in 1831 for the Sovereign and Grand Master of the ...
in the previous year. He was murdered by the
IRA
Ira or IRA may refer to:
*Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name
*Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name
*Iran, UNDP code IRA
Law
*Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...
in 1921 during the
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...
.
Antiquarian and expert in heraldry
Vicars was born on 27 July 1862 in
Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply Leamington (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Priors, it grew into a spa town in the 18th century following ...
, Warwickshire, and was the youngest child of Colonel William Henry Vicars of the
61st Regiment of Foot
The 61st (South Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1756. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot to form the Gloucestershire Regiment ...
and his wife Jane (originally Gun-Cunninghame). This was his mother's second marriage, the first being to Pierce O'Mahony by whom she had two sons. Arthur was very attached to his Irish half-brothers and spent much time at their residences. On completing his education at
Magdalen College School, Oxford
Magdalen College School (MCS) is a public school (English independent day school) in Oxford, England, for boys aged seven to eighteen and for girls in the sixth form. It was founded by William Waynflete about 1480 as part of Magdalen College, ...
and
Bromsgrove School
Bromsgrove School is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in the Worcestershire town of Bromsgrove, England. Founded in 1553, it is one of the oldest public schools in Britain, and one of the 14 founding members of the Headmaste ...
he moved permanently to Ireland.
He quickly developed an expertise in genealogical and heraldic matters and made several attempts to be employed by the Irish heraldic administration of
Ulster King of Arms
Norroy and Ulster King of Arms is the Provincial King of Arms at the College of Heralds with jurisdiction over England north of the Trent and Northern Ireland. The two offices of Norroy and Ulster were formerly separate. Norroy King of Arms is th ...
, even offering to work for no pay. In 1891, he was one of the founder members of the
County Kildare Archaeological Society, and remained its honorary secretary until his death.
He first attempted to find a post in the Office of Arms when, in 1892, he applied unsuccessfully for the post of
Athlone Pursuivant Athlone Pursuivant of Arms (or Athlone Pursuivant) was a junior officer of arms in Ireland, founded 1552 during the reign of Edward VI, King of England and King of Ireland, and was named for the town of Athlone, which is partly in Co. Roscommon (in ...
on the death of the incumbent, Bernard Louis Burke. In a letter dated 2 October 1892 Vicars's half-brother Peirce Mahony wrote that
Sir Bernard Burke,
Ulster King of Arms
Norroy and Ulster King of Arms is the Provincial King of Arms at the College of Heralds with jurisdiction over England north of the Trent and Northern Ireland. The two offices of Norroy and Ulster were formerly separate. Norroy King of Arms is th ...
, was dying and urged him: "You should move at once."
Burke died in December 1892, and Vicars was appointed to the office by
Letters Patent
Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...
dated 2 February 1893. In 1896 Arthur Vicars was knighted, in 1900 he was appointed Commander of the
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...
(CVO) and in 1903 he was elevated to Knight Commander of the order (KCVO).
He was a fellow of the
Society of Antiquaries and a trustee of the
National Library of Ireland
The National Library of Ireland (NLI; ga, Leabharlann Náisiúnta na hÉireann) is the Republic of Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland is ...
.
In 1897, Vicars published ''An Index to the Prerogative Wills of Ireland 1536 -1810'', a listing of all persons in wills proved in that period. This work became very valuable to genealogists after the destruction of the source material for the book in 1922 when the Public Record Office at the
Four Courts
The Four Courts ( ga, Na Ceithre Cúirteanna) is Ireland's most prominent courts building, located on Inns Quay in Dublin. The Four Courts is the principal seat of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Dublin Circuit ...
was destroyed at the start of the
Irish Civil War
The Irish Civil War ( ga, Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United ...
.
Theft of the Irish Crown Jewels
![Irishcrownjewels](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Irishcrownjewels.jpg)
Vicars' career was very distinguished until 1907 when it was hit by the scandal of the theft of the
Irish Crown Jewels
The Jewels Belonging to the Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick, commonly called the Irish Crown Jewels or State Jewels of Ireland, were the heavily jewelled star and badge regalia created in 1831 for the Sovereign and Grand Master of the ...
. As Registrar of the
Order of St Patrick
The Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick is a dormant British order of chivalry associated with Ireland. The Order was created in 1783 by King George III at the request of the then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, The 3rd Earl Temple (later cre ...
, Vicars had custody of the insignia of the order, also known as the "crown jewels". They were found to be missing on 6 July, and a Crown Jewel Commission under Judge
James Johnston Shaw
James Johnston Shaw (4 January 1845 – 27 April 1910) was an Irish county court judge.
Early life
He was born at Kircubbin, County Down, Ireland on 4 January 1845, the second son among seven children of John Maxwell Shaw (died 1852), a mercha ...
was established in January 1908 to investigate the disappearance. Vicars and his barrister
Tim Healy refused to attend the commission's hearings. The commission's findings were published on 25 January 1908. Vicars was dismissed as Ulster five days later.
On 23 November 1912, the ''
Daily Mail
The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...
'' published serious false allegations against Vicars. The substance of the article was that Vicars had allowed a woman reported to be his mistress to obtain a copy to the key to the safe and that she had fled to Paris with the jewels. In July 1913, Vicars successfully sued the paper for libel; the paper admitted that the story was completely baseless and that the woman in question did not exist. Vicars was awarded damages of £5,000.
Vicars left Dublin and moved to Kilmorna, near
Listowel
Listowel ( ; , IPA: lʲɪsˠˈt̪ˠuəhəlʲ is a heritage market town in County Kerry, Ireland. It is on the River Feale, from the county town, Tralee. The town of Listowel had a population of 4,820 according to the Central Statistics Of ...
,
County Kerry
County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...
, the former seat of one of his half-brothers. He married Gertrude Wright in
Ballymore,
County Wicklow
County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...
on 4 July 1917. He continued to protest his innocence until his death, even including bitter references to the affair in his will.
His death
In May 1920 up to a hundred armed men broke into Kilmorna House and held Vicars at gunpoint while they attempted to break into the house's strongroom. On 14 April 1921, he was taken from Kilmorna House, which was set alight, and shot dead in front of his wife. According to the communiqué issued from
Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin.
Until 1922 it was the se ...
, thirty armed men took him from his bed and shot him, leaving a placard around his neck denouncing him as an informer.
["Murder of Sir A. Vicars," ''The Times'', 15 April 1921] On 27 April, as an
official reprisal, four shops were destroyed by
Crown Forces
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
in the town of
Listowel
Listowel ( ; , IPA: lʲɪsˠˈt̪ˠuəhəlʲ is a heritage market town in County Kerry, Ireland. It is on the River Feale, from the county town, Tralee. The town of Listowel had a population of 4,820 according to the Central Statistics Of ...
. The proclamation given under
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory.
Use
Marti ...
and ordering their demolition also stated:
For any outrage carried out in future against the lives or property of loyalist officials, reprisals will be taken against selected persons known to have rebel sympathies, although their implication has not been proved.
Vicars was buried in
Leckhampton
Leckhampton is a Gloucestershire village and a district in south Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The area is in the civil parish of Leckhampton with Warden Hill and is part of the district of Cheltenham. The population of the civil paris ...
,
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
on 20 April. His wife died in
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
in 1946.
Armorial bearings
Sources
*''Royal Roots, Republican Inheritance, The Survival of the Office of Arms'', Susan Hood, Dublin 2002
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vicars, Arthur
British genealogists
English genealogists
Irish officers of arms
People from Leamington Spa
1862 births
1921 deaths
People killed in the Irish War of Independence
Deaths by firearm in Ireland
Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
People educated at Bromsgrove School