A new exhibition at Dublin Castle shines a light on the wives of the men who governed Ireland before independence.
'Vicereines of Ireland: Portraits of Forgotten Women' examines for the first time the workings of the British administration in Ireland from the perspective of its women at the top, rather than its men.
As the wives of the country's viceroys, the vicereines, a number of whom were born in Ireland, were once the fashionable figureheads of social, cultural and charitable life at Dublin Castle.
Campaigns to develop hospitals, relieve poverty, promote Irish fashions, and, in some cases, fight what they described as the injustices of British rule in Ireland, are just some of their overlooked initiatives.
"The role of vicereine is developed not by the state, but by these individual women themselves through their own actions and interests, and very often it's in a way for the benefit of some of the most disadvantaged people in Ireland," Dr Myles Campbell, curator of the exhibition said.
"It’s really a role that they crafted for themselves in a period where many women had to do that because they didn’t have the official presence in public that many do now."
The exhibition features portraits of the vicereines by masters such as Thomas Gainsborough, John Singer Sargent and Sir John Lavery.
It runs at Dublin Castle over the summer months.
