King George IV of the United Kingdom in Coronation Robes by Thomas Lawrence – 1821 – Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Kingstown, which features in A Stark Prediction: The Fitzgeralds of Dublin Book Nine, was once known as Dunleary, but in August 1821, the newly-crowned King George IV decided to visit Ireland, becoming the first British monarch to do so since 1690 – and the first to arrive without an army.
George had planned to visit Ireland since the early days of his reign. Not even the worsening health of his estranged wife, Caroline of Brunswick, could derail his plans. The two had been at odds for years, with George attempting to divorce her for alleged infidelity and even barring her from his coronation.
Excitement grew in Dublin as word spread that George’s yacht would dock at Dunleary’s new pier on August 12th. A grand welcoming party, led by the lord lieutenant, gathered to greet him but George disembarked at the West Pier in Howth instead.
The landing of his Majesty, George the Fourth, at Holyhead, August 7th 1821 (the day of his wife’s death) by Hugh Hughes – Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
George’s voyage to Ireland had been an eventful one. He sailed to Holyhead in Wales on his yacht, Royal George, but news of Caroline’s death forced him to switch to the Lightening, a post office steamboat, to cross the Irish Sea. In the words of his friend, the secretary to the Admiralty, John Wilson Croker, ‘the King was uncommonly well during his passage and gayer than it might be proper to tell’ and ‘partook most abundantly of goose pie and whiskey’ while Lady Glengall noted that George was in fact ‘dead drunk’ and ‘could hardly stand’.
A view of his Majesty King George the Fourth Landing from the Steam Packet, on the Pier of the Harbour of Howth, on Sunday, the 12th of August, 1821. Dublin (Nassau St.) : McCleary, 1821.
Despite there being no one to officially greet him at Howth, a carriage was found, and George settled into the Viceregal Lodge in the Phoenix Park. He wore mourning attire at a private reception on August 15th and a black crepe armband for his official public entry into Dublin on the 17th and for the remainder of his visit. ‘It was not easy, I learn, to persuade him to this,’ Croker noted.
Robert Havell senior: George IV’s Public Entry into the City of Dublin on August 17th 1821 – Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
George embarked on a whirlwind tour: visiting Trinity College, the Bank of Ireland (formerly the Irish Houses of Parliament), the Albany Theatre, the Boyne battlefield, and attended receptions at Dublin Castle, a dress ball at the Rotunda, and a military review in the Phoenix Park. He also attended the races at the Curragh in Co Kildare on August 31st, joined by 120,000 spectators.
King Henry IV, William Heath – George IV and his mistress Elizabeth, Marchioness Conyngham, with the title intended to echo a well known work by Henry Fuseli – Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Rumour had it that George’s real reason for visiting Ireland was to spend time with his mistress, Elizabeth, Lady Conyngham. George spent four nights with her at Slane Castle in Co Meath where she lived with her accommodating husband Henry, whom she ensured was raised in rank from Viscount to Marquess.
George IV’s Embarkation at Kingstown, 3rd September 1821. Robert Havell after J. Haverty
On September 3rd, George visited Viscount Powerscourt in Co Wicklow and then made his way to Dunleary. There, Daniel O’Connell presented him with a laurel crown on bended knee. O’Connell and other key Catholic leaders believed that showing loyalty to the king and advocating for unity could help their cause for emancipation.
King George IV Monument, Dun Laoghaire – Google Street View
After lavish farewells, George boarded his yacht, only to face unfavourable winds, and didn’t reach home until September 15th. Following the historic visit, Dunleary was renamed Kingstown, a title it held until 1920 when it became Dun Laoghaire. In 1823, an obelisk was erected in Kingstown to commemorate the visit. Author William Makepeace Thackeray later described it as ‘a hideous Obelisk, stuck on four fat balls and surmounted with a crown on a cushion.’ It has been damaged on a number of occasions but is still standing.
© Lorna Peel
Dublin, Ireland, June 1891. The Fitzgeralds are eagerly anticipating their summer holiday when Jerry Hawley’s mother dies unexpectedly. While Will travels to London to break the news to his friend, Isobel grapples with shocking incidents at Marianne Pearson’s school, setting off a chain of events that has tragic consequences.
When Margaret Simpson’s illness emerges, it serves as a stark prediction of what lies ahead. Caring for Margaret, both now and in the future, will exact a heavy toll, emotionally and financially. Heartrending decisions loom as Mrs Dawson confronts the possibility of living where she and her ailing daughter are not welcome. Will circumstances force them to take up residence where their presence is met with hostility?
When the time came for the eulogy, Jerry walked to the lectern and gripped its sides, visibly shaking.
“My mother lived in Kingstown all her life,” he began, his voice horribly high-pitched, and he cleared his throat. “Her father was a doctor,” he continued in a normal tone, “and she married a doctor here in this church at the age of twenty-one. My father purchased number 2 Victoria Terrace for its view and because it was large enough for him to practise medicine from and raise a family. But I was their only child, and my father died aged just forty-five. Mother found herself a forty-year-old widow with an eleven-year-old son who wanted to follow his father into medicine – but how would that be possible?
“Dr Patrick Bruen took over my father’s medical practice but practised from home, which left my mother with a large house and no income. Like my father, my mother adored the view from number 2 over the Royal Harbour and Dublin Bay. Sea bathing was popular, and the railway and mail boat brought tourists into Kingstown eager to spend time at the seaside. Kingstown already had hotels and lodging houses, but my mother decided to utilise number 2 Victoria Terrace and take in paying guests.
“Providing all the comforts of home beside the sea – not just in the summer months but all year round – worked wonderfully well, and she gained many friends and admirers but did not remarry. She devoted herself to raising me and running number 2. Many guests returned year after year, and Mother did not simply gain an income for herself and me; there was enough of an income to send me to what was the Wesleyan Connexional School and then to Trinity College to study medicine. I would not be Dr Jeremiah Hawley if it were not for my mother and her resourcefulness, and I will miss her more than I can express. May she rest in peace.”
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