Vicars, Sir Arthur Edward (1864–1921), genealogist and antiquarian, was born 27 July 1864 in Leamington, Warwickshire, England, youngest child among three sons and one daughter of Col. William Henry Vicars (1800/01–69), of HM 61st Regt., and Jane Mary Vicars (1821–73), third daughter of Robert Gun Cuninghame (1792–1877), DL, of Mt. Kennedy, Co. Wicklow; he had two surviving half-brothers by his mother's first marriage to Peirce Kenifeck Mahony (1817–50), JP and high sheriff (1844), of Kilmorna and Gunsborough, Co. Kerry. He was educated at Magdalen College School, Oxford, and Bromsgrove. Orphaned by the age of nine, he spent much time with his Mahony half-brothers in their respective homes at Kilmorna and Grange Con, near Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow. One of these half-brothers, Peirce Charles de Lacy O'Mahony (1850–1930), was a flamboyant nationalist MP for Meath North; his younger son, Dermot Gun O'Mahony (1881–1960), styled himself ‘The O'Mahony of Kerry’. The pedigree of this ancient family probably prompted Vicars's interest in genealogy and heraldry, in which fields he became expert at an early age; in his mid 20s he determined the identities of several of the mummified corpses in St Michan's church, Dublin, by deciphering the arms on the vaults. Also interested in archaeology, he became a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries (London) in the 1880s, and was honorary secretary of the County Kildare Archaeological and Historical Society from its founding until his death (1891–1921).
On the death of Sir John Bernard Burke (qv), Vicars succeeded as Ulster king of arms and principal herald of Ireland, registrar and knight attendant of the order of St Patrick (1893–1908). Responsible for the Irish office of arms, he greatly expanded the office's archival collections, and oversaw relocation of the office within the precincts of Dublin Castle to the Bedford tower in the upper yard (1903). He superintended the ceremonies connected with the state visits to Ireland of Queen Victoria and King Edward VII, among other state occasions. His main publication was the comprehensive Index to the prerogative wills of Ireland 1536–1810 (1897). He also published numerous short articles on genealogy, heraldry, and medieval archaeology in the journal of the Kildare archaeological society and other antiquarian publications. A government-appointed trustee of the NLI, and president of the Ex-Libris Society, he possessed one of the largest collections of bookplates in the world, and a large private collection of rare genealogical books. A unionist in politics, he received a knighthood (1896), CVO (1900), and KCVO (1903).
As a function of his office, Vicars was keeper of the insignia of the order of St Patrick, the so-called ‘Irish crown jewels’, which in July 1907 he found to have been stolen from a steel safe in the office of arms. Following the report of a viceregal commission of inquiry that he ‘did not exercise due vigilance or proper care as the custodian of the regalia’ (quoted in Dungan, 185), Vicars was dismissed from his position (January 1908). Though the circumstances of the theft have never been definitively determined, the weight of suspicion has fallen on Francis Shackleton (qv) – who worked in the office of arms as Dublin herald of arms, and shared lodgings with Vicars, thereby enjoying ready access to the keys to office and safe – probably operating with an accomplice, who actually executed the theft. His lax attitude to security notwithstanding, Vicars was justified in feeling aggrieved that the investigation, on failing to produce the actual thief, scapegoated him as the negligent responsible official. Less sustainable, but not incredible, was his contention that officialdom conspired to shield Shackleton rather than face the scandal that would have attended exposure of the latter's involvement (largely substantiated) in homosexual activities with prominent aristocrats and officeholders.
During his years in Dublin Vicars resided at Clyde Pk. (1891–4), 44 Wellington Rd (1895–1905), and 7 St James's Terrace, Clonskeagh (1905–8), the house that he shared with Shackleton. After being ousted from the office of arms, he lived several years in London, attempting desultorily to establish a private genealogical practice. On the death of his half-brother George Philip Gun Mahony (1912), he assumed residence in the family seat at Kilmorna (illustrated in Bence-Jones), three miles south-east of Listowel, where he developed the garden, and supported St John's church of Ireland, Listowel, and organisations in the town. He also resided intermittently at Grange Con. In July 1913 he was awarded £5,000 in a successful libel action against the London Daily Mail, which had published bizarre allegations about his role in the crown jewels affair; the sum allowed him to live in relative comfort. Despite suffering declining health over several years, he married (1917) Gertrude Wright, daughter of J. J. Wright, MD, of Campfield House, Malton, Yorkshire, and sister-in-law of one of his half-nephews, Peirce Gun Mahony (1878–1914), MRIA, of Kilmurry House, Castleisland, Co. Kerry. In May 1920 armed men from the Duagh Co., IRA, broke into Kilmorna seeking arms; despite this incident, and the advice of friends to move to a safer location, Vicars chose to stay on. A year later, on 14 April 1921, he was taken from the house by men from the Duagh and Knockanure companies of the IRA's Kerry No. 1 Brigade, and shot dead in his garden. The house was looted and burned, his irreplaceable bookplate collection presumably perishing in the flames. A full-length portrait of Vicars (artist unknown, partially illustrated in Gaughan) hangs in the Genealogical Office, Kildare St., Dublin.