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Fenian Needham Conversion: Just the Thing for Invading Canada
The Fenian Brotherhood was formed in the US in 1858, a partner organization to the Irish Republican Brotherhood. The groups were militant organizations looking to procure Irish independence from the British, and they found significant support among the Irish-American immigrant community. In Novem...
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SMLE MkI***: The Updated Early Lee Enfields (and Irish Examples!)
When the British adopted a new high-velocity spitzer bullet for the .303 cartridge, they had to update their rifles to use it. Specifically, the sights had to be recalibrated for the flatter trajectory of the new MkVII ammunition. In addition, the sight picture was changed form a barleycorn front...
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UVF Gewehr 88: Gun Running Into Ireland in 1914
The Ulster Volunteer Force was a Loyalist organization dedicated to keeping Ireland in the United Kingdom, in reaction to the Home Rule bills being considered by the UK parliament. In 1914 they purchased nearly 25,000 surplus rifles and 3 million rounds of ammunition in Hamburg and arranged to ha...
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Northern Ireland Sterling Submachine Gun Copy
This copy or clone of a Sterling Mk4 / L2A3 submachine gun is believed to have been assembled during The Troubles by Loyalist paramilitaries. Although which group made it is unknown and its origins are unclear, it's a fascinating example of clandestine engineering which shows considerable skill i...
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Civil Support Operations in Northern Ireland (Or how to mess up badly by doing the right thing)
[Correction: Where I say "Short Falls", I should have said "Short Strand"] Well, I figured I had to do something Irish for Paddy's Day. The initial British Army involvement in Northern Ireland is an excellent case study in how an adherence to a tactical mission without particular reference to the...
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British L66A1: A Pistol for Northern Ireland
In 1974, the British Royal Army Ordnance Corps purchased about 3,000 .22lr caliber Walther PP pistols to issue as Personal Defense Weapons to service members of the Ulster Defense Regiment. These were to be issued to servicemen (and women) who faced personal threats to their lives. the choice of ...
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"Howth" Mauser 1871: Irish Volunteers Gunrunning into Dublin
On July 14th, 1914 the 50 foot pleasure yacht “Asgard” sailed into Howth harbor in Dublin with its cabin completely filled with arms. It has 900 Mauser 1871 rifles and 29,000 rounds of ammunition for the Irish Volunteers, and there is a crowd of a thousand people turned out to unload them - just ...
