This lecture tells the untold story of the women who were the faces of the British administration in Ireland. As the wives of Ireland’s viceroys, the vicereines were once the fashionable figureheads of social and cultural life at Dublin Castle. Exploring the portraits, papers and personal objects they left behind, this lecture sets out to recapture their lost legacies. Fabrics shimmer, flowers blossom and pearls glint in the painted world of the vicereines. But behind these genteel images were activists and advocates who strived to build hospitals, relieve poverty, transform interiors and promote Irish fashions. Discover their story in this special lecture, which is presented by the curator of the Vicereines exhibition currently on display at Dublin Castle.

Dr Myles Campbell is Research and Interpretation Officer (Curator) for the Office of Public Works at Dublin Castle.