Champagne and silver buckles: the Viceregal Court at Dublin Castle, 1700-1922

Abstract

Dublin Castle was for centuries the headquarters of British rule in Ireland - both literally and symbolically - and through it, much of Ireland's national history was enacted. There, the Viceroy - chief representative of the Crown in Ireland - presided, with little political influence or power of his own, but as a conduit and image of that power. Around him gathered a small, privileged minority, whose presence represented the apex of Irish high society for over 200 years. Their colourful lives, role and rituals, lent shape to what became known as the Viceregal Court. This work examines the social and ceremonial life of that court, and looks at the individual players, entourage and rulers who performed at the Castle during the onset of English administration after the Williamite wars, until its demise and withdrawl in 1922 when power was transferred to Michael Collins and to the government of the Irish Free State: No trumpets, no courtiers, no drinks on the sideboard, having withstood the attacks of successive generations of Irish rebels over seven centuries, Dublin Castle was quietly handed over to eight gentlemen in three taxicabs.