We managed to give a grant of €1,000 to the National Library of Ireland enabling it to purchase two important archives of documents: those of the O’Mahony family of Kerry and Wicklow, covering several centuries, and of Sir Arthur Vicars, the ill-fated Ulster King of Arms. A genealogist, he had longed for the post for many years. The papers include a letter from his brother alerting him that the incumbent, Sir Bernard Burke, was gravely ill; “You should move at once” he urged. Sir Arthur got the job, but it ended abruptly in 1907 when the Irish Crown Jewels were stolen from a safe in his office in Dublin Castle on the eve of a royal visit. They were never recovered. Coincidentally, our annual general meeting, at which our donation for the papers was announced, took place in the State Apartments of Dublin Castle – across the courtyard from Sir Arthur’s old office, with its empty safe.
