The Irish Crown Jewels

The account

They were stolen from inside a fortress, without a forced lock, by someone who knew exactly where the keys lived. The investigation embarrassed so many gentlemen it was quietly strangled. The jewels have been 'about to surface' for a hundred and twenty years.

Known intelligence

• The jewelled insignia of the Order of St Patrick, Brazilian diamonds, an emerald trefoil, a ruby cross.
• Stolen from a safe inside Dublin Castle in 1907, days before a royal visit.
• No forced entry, no ransom, no recovery; the official inquiry was quietly strangled to avoid scandal.

Theories of the hunt

• An inside job by staff of the Office of Arms (Francis Shackleton was widely suspected).
• Covered up to protect powerful figures from exposure.
• Broken up and sold abroad, the stones long since scattered.

Leads, where the trail points now

• This is a cold case, not a dig: the regalia were stolen from a safe in Dublin Castle in 1907 just before a royal visit, and the official inquiry was suppressed.
• The strongest leads are the inside-job suspects around herald Francis Shackleton and the Office of Arms; the police file and the 1908 viceregal commission are the documents.
• Rumors place the jewels with a private collector or melted down; claims surface periodically but none has produced them.