WANDERING ROCKS
This is a closer view of King Billy's statue, with the foreleg of his horse pawing the air. It was commissioned by the Dublin Corporation in 1700, and was the work of Dutch sculptor Grinling Gibbons. The king is in Roman armour and crowned with a laurel wreath. The pedestal is formed into pannels, and decorated with military emblems. On the pedestal is inscribed: 'Gulielmo Tertio, Magnae Brittanniae, Franciae, Et Hiberniae Regi, Ob Religionem Conservatum, Restitutas Leges, Libertatam Assestam, Cives Dubliniensis Hanc Statuam Possuere.' The monument was unveiled, amidst great pomp and ceremony, on the 11th anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne (July 1st 1701), inaugurating the period of Protestant ascendancy known as the Penal Laws. It was to serve as a shrine to the cult of King William throughout the 18c. Besides the anniversay in July, there was a yearly celebration on the King's birthday (November 4th), in which the Mayor and Sheriffs of the City of Dublin participated; the Lord Lieutenant would lead a parade of nobility and military from Dublin Castle to College Green to salute King Billy; Williamite associations such as the Boyne Society (and later the Orange) marched through Dublin streets, sporting colours, banners and arms; the evening saw bonfires, illuminations and elaborate fireworks.
