Irish Film Institute -Strange Case of the Irish Crown Jewels, The

Strange Case of the Irish Crown Jewels, The

Director: Gerry Nelson

Ireland 2003. Colour/B&W. 55mins.


It was the most mysterious jewel robbery of the early 20th century
On the eve of the King’s royal visit to Ireland in 1907, the Irish Crown Jewels were stolen from Dublin Castle – Britain’s most impregnable Irish stronghold.The priceless gems, known as the Regalia of the Order of St Patrick, were a symbol of the unity between the British Crown and the loyal landed Gentry in Ireland. Now the symbols were gone, but as King Edward VII personally oversaw a meticulous investigation into the robbery, an even greater scandal threatened to emerge which would have rocked the Royal Family and the whole Empire to the core. Homosexuality stalked the corridors of power in Ireland and led right to the King’s Palace in London.What was to have been a showcase investigation and pursuit of the guilty became an exercise in obfuscation and cover-up.
This is a remarkable story of theft, blackmail and debauchery in high places and murder in darkest Ireland. The theft caused uproar – the murders, the hoaxes and the cast of extraordinary characters drawn into one of the most intriguing jewel heists of the century…one hundred years later and the fate of the Irish Crown Jewels is still unknown.

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