One of the three great national Orders of Chivalry, The Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick (KP), has lain dormant since the investiture of the last Knight, HRH The Duke of York (later George VI), in 1936.
The last surviving Knight was another son of King George V, HRH The Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, Earl of Ulster.
He died in 1974.
I have read about and studied the history of the Order, its constitution and establishment at length.
Since the partition of Ireland, in 1922, there have been no non-royal conferrals.
The 3rd Duke of Abercorn, first Governor of Northern Ireland, was the
very last non-royal conferral, in 1922.
Serious and sustained attempts were made to keep the Order alive (hence King George V appointing his sons).
The continuance of the great Order was discussed for many years, including how it could continue; and after a period, be revived.
Lords Craigavon and Brookeborough were both most desirous that the Order be revived for Northern Ireland, as a national Order ~ like the Garter in England and the Thistle in Scotland.
Despite the fact that, technically, the Order remains on the statute book (it’s still on the royal family website), it has been allowed to wither and hibernate.
Sir Winston Churchill was the last statesman to endeavour to revive the Order
Having read some documents, it is my belief that the key players in the Order’s revival today would be:-
- The Prime Minister
- The Foreign Secretary
- The Northern Ireland Secretary
- The First Minister of Northern Ireland
- The Northern Ireland Assembly
- The Sovereign
I have to mention the Irish Government because the government of the then
Irish Free State was instrumental in its resistance to keeping the
Patrick alive, or extant.
However, to my knowledge, the Garter and the Thistle are in the personal gift of the Sovereign, so I wonder whether the revival of the Patrick should really be "politicised" at all.
It need merely be reconstituted, with new statutes, officers and chapel.
The Order of St Patrick would need to be reconstituted; new and more appropriate Statutes drawn; and probably a new Chapel found for the banners, hatchments etc of the new Knights.
It was suggested in the 20th century that the Great Hall at Stormont would be fitting as a chamber for the banners.
A former Archbishop of Armagh offered St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh, as the Chapel of the Order.
The insignia of the Order remains, including at least 22 chains, stars, mantles and sashes; as does the Sovereign’s regalia and the Grand Master’s insignia.
All of the insignia still exists at the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood, I
believe.
I respectfully and humbly call on Her Majesty’s Government to consider the revival of our great Order of St Patrick, as a gesture of goodwill towards the people of Northern Ireland.
Like the Garter and the Thistle, it should be restricted to a few dozen.
It should remain in the personal gift of the Sovereign.
I have been using my website to give exposure to the Patrick for a number of years and will continue so to do.
The Rev Professor Peter Galloway, LVO, OBE, JP, has written a book about the Order, entitled The Most Illustrious Order: The Order of Saint Patrick and its Knights, by Unicorn Press.
