Order of St Patrick Regalia

Acquisition at auction of a Collar and Knight's Badge of the Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick, which was founded by George III in 1783. It was one of three major orders of knighthood with the Garter and the Thistle. By the time the Order effectively came to an end with the foundation of the Irish Free State in 1922, fewer that 200 Knights had been appointed. The Ulster Museum's collection of regalia of the Order was lacking an example of a collar and Knight's badge until it successfully bid for these 19th century examples at auction in November 1983.