They did not disembark from the royal yacht until the viceroy Lord Aberdeen arrived to greet them at 11am and then travelled by open carriage, along roads hung with bunting and banners, to Donnybrook.

For there in the south city suburb was the main reason for their visit . . . the Irish Industrial Exhibition. This extraordinary event lasted from May to October and attracted almost three million visitors. The Great White Fair, as Bram Stoker called it, wasn't just a funfair of swings and roundabouts, but an ambitious enterprise designed to showcase the best of Irish industry and crafts, and to attract visitors from overseas.

Enormous buildings rose to the sky and an array of exhibits and attractions went on display.

It was an amazing feat of organisation and of entrepreneurship. The brains behind the exhibition was the editor of the Irish Independent, William Dennehy, and the event was driven by William Martin Murphy, proprietor of the paper.

The exhibition lost a small amount of money, but brought huge benefits to the city in terms of employment, trade and tourism. The site itself was given over to the city and is now known as Herbert Park.

They royals arrived at the grounds at 1.10pm, with the Irish Independent describing that "all along Merrion, Ailesbury Road, Donnybrook Road, through the village, and up to the gates of the Exhibition the cheering travelled, growing in volume as the crowds increased, and finally swelling into a magnificent, sustained outburst of welcome as their Majesties reached the entrance".

The king told the crowds that he had come "to see for ourselves the results of your foresight, energy and patriotic effort. I heartily congratulate you upon the self-reliance and enterprise of which the exhibition, with its attractive surroundings is such a striking monument". The royals ate lunch in the Palace Restaurant before visiting some of the exhibits, taking a particular diplomatic interest in the French, Italian and New Zealand sections, before enjoying a short programme of music assembled by the famous Irish tenor Barton M'Guckin. The 300 strong choir sang the specially-composed 'Come Back to Erin' by Sir Francis Brady, a toadying tribute which included the verse:

"Come back to Erin, our Queen Alexandra! Never forgot be her goodness and love! Happy and long may her reign and her day be! Grateful and loyal all Ireland will prove!"

The royals also received gifts from a group of spear-carrying Somali villagers whose daily life was part of the Exhibition. Lady Aberdeen gave them a guided tour of the Home Industries section, where the king was presented with a case of pipes and the queen a parasol from the Presentation Convent, Cork.

The king purchased an enamelled coin-box made by Mary Doran of the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art before moving on to the Palace of Fine Arts where they showed a special interest in the collection of Irish historical relics. After a quick visit to the Canadian pavilion, the party left the exhibition at 4.15pm for the Phoenix Park. The next day they attended the races at Leopardstown where the King clearly enjoyed his day, as he was too exhausted to bother waving to the Dubliners on his return. He slept for most of the journey in the landau, a diplomatic faux pas Queen Elizabeth II is unlikely to make.

Brian Siggins's book 'The Great White Fair: the Herbert Park Exhibition of 1907' (Nonsuch) will be published in July