Summary. The system of point vortices on the sphere is a Hamiltonian system with symmetry SO(3), and there are stable relative equilibria of four point vortices, where three identical point vortices form an equilateral triangle circling a central vortex. These relative equilibria have zero (nongeneric) momentum and form a family that extends to arbitrarily small diameters. Using the energy-momentum method, I show their shape is stable while their location on the sphere is unstable, and they move, after perturbation to nonzero momentum, on the sphere as point particles move under the influence of a magnetic monopole. In the analysis the internal and external degrees of freedom are separated and the mass of these point particles determined. I...