Throughout the centuries Dublin has hosted many famous feasts and banquets, but it is doubtful if any of them were quite as memorable as that held on October 22nd 1856. It had a guest list of almost four thousand, the majority of them Irish soldiers and veterans who had seen service in the Crimean War.

In August of that year the Lord Lieutenant wrote a letter to the Lord Mayor suggesting that it might be a good idea to organise an event of such magnitude. The Mayor complied at once and a planning committee was set up immediately and at the same time a subscription list was instantly arranged among wealthy society to defray the costs.

A meeting held in the Mansion House on September 8th 1856, included the Mayor and the eminent MP Isaac Butt with other prominent citizens also in attendance. They resolved to “invite to a National Entertainment, in the City of Dublin, all of the troops now serving in Ireland who are wearers of the Crimean medals.”

Venues were discussed such as the Theatre Royal, the Rotunda, the upper yard in Dublin Castle and the grounds of Leinster House and they were all dismissed. It soon became evident to the committee that none of the venues were suitable and it was decided after advice by a prominent official of the Board of Works to hold it at Mr. Scovell’s bonded warehouse on Custom House Quay, beside George’s Dock.

Banquets of this size required a great deal of organisation and everything was prepared meticulously. Well-established city firms like T&C Martin and Todd Burns offered to supply essential materials such as platforms, seating, table-cloths and whatever else was required.

Offers began to flood in to provide foodstuffs, beer, wine and spirits and this munificence was accepted with open arms and delight.

The iron roof trusses were painted red, white and blue set against a background of floral and regimental flags. Dublin’s Lord Mayor would preside in the presence of the Lord Lieutenant and other prominent city notables. To announce the toasts, of which there were many, four trumpeters were stationed at the rear of the top table, sounding a “brilliant call” before each one.

The food for the feast was specially prepared by the Spanacini and Murphy Company, the meal consisting of 250 hams, 200 geese, 230 legs of mutton, 200 turkeys, 250 joints of beef, 500 meat pies, 100 venison pies, 100 chickens, six ox tongues, 260 plum puddings and 100 rice puddings. All meat was provided by the city’s leading butchers, Farrelly’s of South Great George’s Street and Ledwidge’s of William Street.

There were 4,000 pounds of bread and three tons of potatoes. The meal was to be washed down with a quart of porter for each man and a pint of wine or sherry, which was supplied gratis by Henry Brennan, wine merchant.

From every corner of the country’s army barracks, transport brought the veterans to Dublin to celebrate their safe homecoming in style. From the Curragh Camp there were 1,000 men. 1,500 came from the Dublin barracks and the rest from around the country.

In Dublin they marched through the city streets, cheered on by great crowds. All of them passed grandly by Gandon’s Custom House to George’s Dock and then in an orderly fashion into the lavishly-decorated warehouse. A large crowd of spectators were greatly amused to see fleets of horse-drawn lorries come to dispatch their appetizing wares.

Along both sides of the quays many ships were festooned with flags and bunting, lending a festive air to the occasion. It was a chance for hungry street urchins to grab a bite to eat and scarper, scoffing their prized tasty morsel pursued by police, who seemed somewhat reluctant to apprehend them.

Inside the hall on large flags were the names of some of the most notable battles in the Crimean War: Balaclava, Inkerman, Sebastopol and Tchernaya. Along the walls were names of the most famous people associated with the battles such as Florence Nightingale, Pellisier, Raglan and St Arnaud.
After the arrival of the Lord Mayor, dressed in full regalia who took his place at the table of honour, dinner would not be served until the Lord Lieutenant was present. Shortly after a quarter past one he arrived and when seated, dinner was served immediately.

Despite the vast amounts of food served to the multitudes, it was consumed in a little over half an hour, when the Lord Mayor said grace after meals. Then followed innumerable speeches and toasts and by four o’clock the last soldiers had marched out and up the Quays to their various destinations.

When asked if they had enjoyed the day, by a respectable well-dressed spectator, one Dubliner replied: “Had they given us treatment like that in the Crimea, we would never have left it!”

For the few dissident republicans among them, it was a chastening and enlightening reminder of just how the well-off dined less than ten years previously, while their families and loved ones starved to death during the potato famine.