THE ECLECTIC COLLECTOR 6 APRIL 2025

84 144 1916-1923 hammer fire revolver issued to Peadar Bracken, who fired“the first shot of the 1916 Rising” This gun was fired by Captain Peadar Bracken, Athlone Irish Volunteers Brigade on 20 March, during a riot followed by an attack by the RIC on a meeting of Irish Volunteers in Tullamore. Pádraig Pearse said, the day after: “the first blood has been spilled and the first blow struck in defence of the Volunteers right to carry arms.”. A unique weapon being the first to be fired in action in1916 . Condition: Unrestored, pitted, good appearance in leather holster. Provenance: Captain Peadar Bracken (1887-1961); Thence to James O’Connor, Quartermaster Offaly Irish Volunteers; Thence by descent to the present owner. Exhibited: On loan to Offaly Historical & Archaeological Society, Tullamore for Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 Irish Freedom Fighter 1916-1921 Peadar Bracken by Fergus O’Bracken, Universal Publishing Group, 2016; Tullamore in 1916 by Michael Byrne, Esker Press Tullamore, 2016. Bracken, alongside Seamus Brennan, are credited with firing the first shots of the 1916 rising. A month before the rising, a fight broke out in the Volunteer hall in Tullamore. A number of people who had just said farewell to men leaving for the war as British soldiers attacked the hall where a number of Volunteers and members of the Cumann na mBan were counting money which had been collected from a GAA match the day previous. Bracken, alongside Brennan escorted the women home, and on returning to the hall a hostile crowd attacked the two men. Bracken discharged two shots to keep them and the police back, as did Brennan. They seriously wounded a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC), Sergeant Aherne. The RIC had attempted to disarm and arrest the Volunteers. Bracken holds the record as the initial shot firer. Pearse heard the news on Tuesday evening, 21 March 1916, from Bracken’s second- in-command, Brennan. Brennan had escaped to Dublin after the Monday night affray and reported to Pearse’s at St. Enda’s College, Rathfarnham, Dublin. Peadar Bracken (1887 –1961) was an Irish Volunteer during the War of Independence. In 1914 he was elected Captain by the men of the Tullamore Company Irish Volunteers, before later being appointed Commandant of the Athlone Brigade area by Patrick Pearse. Bracken, alongside his comrade Seamus Brennan, are credited with firing the first shots in the 1916 rising in Tullamore on 20 March. A month later he commanded the critical GPO garrison outpost at O’Connell Bridge, Dublin during the Easter Rising. In 1920, he was a senior officer in the Irish Republican Brotherhood branch in Tullamore, and commanding officer in chief of the Athlone Brigade. Bracken died on 19 January 1961. Further details: http://www.irishidentity.com/stories/firstshots.htm Estimate €8,000-€10,000 (approx £6,670-£8,330) Click here for more images and to bid on this lot 144