I recently picked up this great image of the King William of Orange statue on College Green, which is taken from ‘Ireland In Pictures’, released in 1898. We’ve had a series on the site here dealing with the statues of Dublin, which is still in its infancy, and I collect old original photographs, postcards and the like showing Dublin monuments and statues. It’s a cheap and cheerful hobby, and not quite as bad as stamps.
It’s a big image, so click to expand if you wish.
The King William of Orange statue on College Green was eventually removed in 1929, following an explosion in the early hours of Armistice Day that year. A bomb had also been placed at the base of the bronze statue of King George II in Stephens Green. It had sat on College Green since 1701, and was frequently the target of vandals (more on that below) but the explosion didn’t mark the end of its traumatic life as the King’s head was removed from the statue while it was placed in storage in Corporation Yard, Hanover Street!
The below is taken from the brief commentary on the statue that comes in ‘Ireland In Pictures’, dating from 1898. It’s a gem of a find.
This equestrian statue of William III stands in College Green, and has stood there, more or less, since A.D 1701. We say “more or less” because no statue in the world, perhaps, has been subject to so many vicissitudes. It has been insulted, mutilated and blown up so many times, that the original figure, never particularly graceful, is now a battered wreck, pieced and patched together, like an old, worn out garment.
Up until recently, I had thought it was surprising that the only significant imperial monument in Dublin had been Nelson’s Pillar. Thank you for shining a light on this. It stands as no real surprise that there was a statue of William of Orange and Queen Victoria, to name a few, but what is a surprise that they are rarely mentioned. You could even call them forgotten. Thank you for the reminders.
On another note, in Korea where I’m based there is a bit of European style Colonial architecture lying around Seoul. Most of it is from when the Japanese ruled the country. Often people describe these buildings as ‘nice’ but they stick out so much they’re out of place. There are definitely no statues of any Japanese influence remaining. Plenty of patriots though.
I wonder are the statue remains still in storage? Hardly.
[…] One British publication wrote in 1898 that: […]
[…] The story of ‘Fascist warships in Dublin Bay’ in 1938, the story of Constable Sheahan, the idea of moving Nelson’s Pillar to the Hill of Howth, the infamous ‘Animal Gangs’ of the 1930s, Liberty Hall before Liberty Hall, the story of the ‘African Boy’ John Mulgrave, a crazy trip to Sudan for UCD AFC, foreign media coverage of the Irish Civil War, when Dublin Fire Brigade rushed north during World War II, the earliest sex shops in Dublin, the Behan family and Siberia, the infamous ‘Pinking Dindies’, the Dublin Working Boys Home, Wood Quay vandalism, the first man to parachute over the capital, the Marian statues of Dublin, a chat with Maser, an easy to miss firemark in Kilmainham , some political art from Jim Fitzpatrick, the story of pirate television in the capital, Illustrated London News coverage of the War of Independence, when Hopalong Cassidy came to town, the GAA ‘Vigilance Committee’ of old, Bertie and Brendan, Dubliners with statues beyond these shores, ‘The Heart Of The City’, our first traffic lights and King Billy on his high horse. […]
[…] has contributed this great video on the history of King Billy on College Green. We’ve looked at this statue in the past, quoting from Ireland in Pictures (1898) who wrote that “no statue in the world, […]
[…] This Irish history blog also has more on the King William statue, including a photograph of the original which was taken in 1898. […]
[…] is an interesting blogpost on the statue here. I am relieved that the statue is gone lest I get caught up running round and round […]
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[…] Because Ireland was a majority Catholic that statue was defaced countless times. Like so many times there’s none of the original parts of the statue left; […]
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