WANDERING ROCKS
The statue of William III on College Green is intensely resented (and often defaced) by Irish nationalists. Here an Irishman is provoking a highland laddie to play 'The Boyne Water' (an Ulster Protestant folksong commemorating the Battle of the Boyne), in order to start a fight! Also, not all Irish Protestants like King William III. A Trinity student was expelled, soon after the statue was unveiled, for drinking a toast to Sorrel, the horse that threw William to his death. In 1710, King Billy was daubed with mud and his sceptre stolen. After a £200 reward was offered (£100 each by Dublin Castle and the Dublin Corporation), 3 Trinity students (Graffone, Vinicome and Harvey) were caught; they were sentenced to 6 months jail, a £100 fine, and to stand before the statue with a placard stating their offence. Though the sentence was commuted, they were expelled from Trinity as well. Four years later, a sentinel was posted in a futile effort to prevent further ongoing vandalism. A major assault on King Billy took place in 1882, soon after the unveiling of O'Connell's statue. Hundreds of people gathered around it yelling and throwing stones, riots ensued, and several arrests were made. The statue was targeted no less than six times until it was sent to the forge and recycled in 1946.
