Entry of James II into Dublin
It was on the 24 day of March, 1689, that James Stuart, the seventh of that ill-fated name who held the sceptre of Scotland, and the second who ruled England and Ireland, made his triumphal entry into the ancient city of Dublin.
Ireland had not seen a king of England on her shores since the days of John, and the one who now appeared, came, not on a visit of state, or merely to receive the homage due to his dignity, but to contest in arms, with his rival, this the only part of his dominions which had adhered to him. For though the valour of the viscount of Dundee, the enthusiasm of such Highland clans as followed him to the field, and some troops dispatched by Tyrconnel from Ireland served to make a considerable diversion in favour of James, still it was evident that the majority of the people of Scotland were favourable to the revolution.
Every effort had been made by the leaders of the Jacobite party, now the ruling one in Ireland, to give an imposing air to the entrance of their unhappy sovereign, into the only capital which still held him as her king. The entire of the way leading from the place where exiled Royalty first came within the city to the castle was lined with soldiers; the streets themselves were newly sanded for the occasion; the balconies of the citizens were hung with tapestry and cloth of arras, and filled with all the loveliness and grace of a town, which, for female beauty, in comparison to its extent, has always stood unrivalled.
In a carriage proceeding the king, bearing the sword of state, sat Richard Talbot, Earl of Tyrconnel; James himself mounted on a gallant charger, wearing the decorations of the garter, with the Earl of Granard, and Lord Powis on his right, and the Duke of Berwick, and Lord Mefort on his left, advanced amidst the plaudits of the multitude.
On approaching that part of the town, called then, as it is now, the Liberty, a silken canopy was erected over the way, and here by far the most interesting part of the pageant appeared. Forty young and beautiful maidens, selected from the different convents in Dublin, clad in white silk, and bearing baskets filled with flowers in their hands, joined the procession; and walked immediately before His Majesty, strewed the contents of their baskets in his path the rest of the way to the castle. The bands of the different regiments played the well known Jacobite tune of “the king shall have his own again,” while the people rent the air with shouts of God save the King, long live the King.
E. B.