Tag Archives: 1916 Easter Rising

Anyone seen Shane MacGowan’s Lee-Enfield?

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If you recall, Irish folk singer Shane MacGowan of The Pogues recently passed just before last Christmas.

Sadly, Shane’s gun is missing and MacGowan’s widow, Victoria Mary Clarke, is seeking its quiet return, no questions asked.

The gun is, in typical Irish fashion, not just any old Glock or Enfield. It’s a Lee-Enfield 303 and has the name H Munn etched on it.

Shane MacGowan of the Pogues with his Enfield 303

Supposedly it is from the 1916 Easter Rising (perhaps on the British side) and was given to MacGowan as a 60th birthday present by the singer-songwriter Glen Hansard of The Frames.

And with that, I leave you with The Pogues’ version of The Band Played Waltzing Matilda.

An Irish Savage

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Savage Model 1907’ Pistol reputed to have been used by an Irish Volunteer during the 1916 Rising.

A ‘Savage Model 1907’ Pistol reputed to have been used by an Irish Volunteer during the 1916 Rising. The weapon was found by a Capuchin Friar on North King Street after the conclusion of the hostilities. With leather holster and spare bullet cartridge. A manuscript note found with the pistol in the gallery of St. Mary of the Angels, Church Street, reads:

‘These are souvenirs of the 1916 Rising’. A revolver used in King Street. A scissors used in the Four Courts’. Fr. Col[umbus Murphy]’.

Firearm: This semi-automatic pistol was produced by the Savage Arms Company of Utica, New York, from 1907-1920. It had a 10 round magazine. A safety leaver is located on the left side of the pistol, at the upper rear of the grip.

The Model 1907 is often erroneously called a Model 1905 because of the date Nov. 21, 1905 stamped into the top of the slide on all Savage pistols. This was the date Elbert Searle was awarded one of his firearm patents, which became the design basis for all Savage pistols. The model 1907 uses no screws (even the grips snap into place) and is relatively easy to dismantle. (hattip oglaighnaheireann)