Gold Collar of S.S. worn by the Lord Mayor

On the 6th March, 1787, the Corporation ordered that;

"a collar of S.S. and gold chains be bought for the Mayor and Sheriffs of this City, for the time being, to be worn by them in their several offices for the Honour and Dignity of this City, and that the said Collar and Chains be made like the collar and chains worn by the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs of Dublin, to be delivered over by the Mayor and Sheriffs from time to time to their successors, along with the rest of the City Regalia'" (Caulfield, page 1016).

The collar consists of;

• twenty-six S.S. links,
• thirteen rosettes,
• twelve knots,
• a grill or portcullis and
• a medallion.

The reverse side of the medallion bears the following inscription:

"Cork, 19th June, 1787. The Right Worshipfull Samuel Rowland, esq. Mayor was publicly invested by the Common Speaker, on behalf of the Commons, in open Court of Doyer Hundred with the Gold Chain and immediately after the Mayor conferred the like Honor on the High Sheriffs, and lastly, the Ceremony of Investing the Mayor with this Pendant and Collar of SS was performed by a Deputation from the Council”.

No one knows for certain the significance of the S. or S.S. Many explanations have been offered over the centuries:

• Sanctus Simplicius,
• St. Sulpicius,
• Signum, Soverayne,
• Seneschallus
• or Steward, Souvenez, etc.
• Of these, Souvenez is the most likely.

The Silver Collar of the S.S.

This collar (the Silver Collar of S.S.) is on permanent exhibition in the Museum. It was given by Queen Elizabeth I to Maurice Roche, Mayor of Cork, in 1571, for assistance rendered to her forces against the Earl of Desmond.

The Silver Collar Chain is composed of forty-one S's, each connected to its neighbour by two rings ,with a quatrefoil centre. To each end of the line of S.S. is a portcullis, and between them a bird.