The Irish Crown Jewels Heist: A 1907 Mystery Unsolved

Francis Shackleton was a known figure in Dublin social circles, with expensive habits and a taste for gambling. The investigation revealed that Shackleton had access to the castle's inner corridors and had been seen in the vicinity of the strongroom. Kane believed Shackleton had stolen the jewels with the help of a pair of known Dublin fences. A police raid on a pawnshop in Dublin's inner city turned up empty.

The case took a strange turn when the authorities decided not to prosecute. The official reason was insufficient evidence. Many historians believe the real reason was embarrassment. Prosecuting Francis Shackleton would have meant airing the dirty laundry of Dublin Castle's inner circle, including allegations of gambling debts and sexual impropriety. The King, reportedly, wanted the matter dropped.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who had met Vickers and followed the case closely, later said he believed the jewels had been smuggled out of Ireland in a diplomatic bag. He speculated that the theft was an inside job, possibly involving a woman who had access to the castle. Conan Doyle's theory never gained official traction.

The Irish Crown Jewels were never found. The Order of St. Patrick effectively dissolved in the decades that followed. The mystery remains one of the great unsolved crimes of the Edwardian era, a story of royal rage, official embarrassment, and a set of jewels that simply vanished into history.