John Lushington Reilly, Joseph Haverty, Robert Havell & Son
The visit of George IV to Dublin
1823
2021/59.1
One of a pair of souvenir prints commemorating the visit of George IV to Ireland in 1821 were engraved by Robert Havell & Son from paintings by Joseph Haverty which were themselves based on original eye-witness sketches by John Lushington Reilly. They were printed in London in 1823.
The first print shows the entry of the King to Dublin on 17 August 1821. Large crowds fill the streets, and the windows and parapets of the surrounding buildings, at the junction of Upper Sackville Street (O’Connell Street), Cavendish Row (Parnell Square East) and Great Britain Street (Parnell Street). George, having just passed under a simple triumphal arch (located on or near the site of the present Parnell Monument), stands in his carriage to greet the assembled aldermen of Dublin, led by the Lord Mayor, Sir Abraham Bradley King. The triumphal arch was designed by Sir Richard Morrison, but the version shown here is much simpler than that depicted in a painting of the same scene by William Turner de Lond donated to the National Gallery of Ireland by the FNCI.
The FNCI have donated this attractive pair of large coloured engravings after Joseph Haverty RHA (1794-1864) to the Irish Architectural Archive. We bought them at the auction (Adams, September 2021) of the art collection of the late Homan Potterton. €3115, including fees. They show the ceremonial entry into the City of Dublin of George IV in August 1821 and his departure from Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) the following month. It was the first time that a British monarch had visited Ireland otherwise than at the head of an army.
The IAA wished to have these engravings because they are of importance in our architectural history, recording in detail the impressive buildings of a proud city two hundred years ago.
Remarkably, 75 years ago a painting showing the same scene was presented by the FNCI to another public collection. It was a large oil painting by another artist, William Turner de Lond (fl. c1820-1837), and we gave it to the National Gallery of Ireland in 1947.
Incidentally, Daniel O’Connell was so pleased with the royal visit, which he saw as support for his endeavours to secure Catholic Emancipation for Ireland (though in fact it was to take another eight years before the King, very reluctantly, agreed to sign the Bill) that he proposed that a collection be taken up “from every peasant in Ireland’ to build a palace for the King. This optimistic idea did not produce sufficient enthusiasm from the said peasants to build a palace but it did build a bridge – King’s Bridge, beside what is now Heuston railway station, Dublin.
