Savina Donohoe holds Arthur Griffith's revolver.

Griffiths revolver donated to county museum

A revolver belonging to one the architects of Ireland’s independence has been donated to the Cavan County Museum. Arthur Griffith, the founder of Sinn Féin, is thought to have had the gun in his possession for self protection during Ireland’s Civil War. The revolver has been in the keep of the family of the Garda Sergeant who was on guard duty outside Griffith’s room, in St Vincent’s Hospital, Dublin, when Griffith died on August 12, 1922. The revolver, when discovered by the sister-in-charge, was handed to the Garda and he and his family have held it in safe keeping for the past 92 years.
Arthur Griffth led the negotiations and the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty with the British in December 1921. Griffith may have been given the revolver by Michael Collins as early as April ’22 when Griffith was setting out for Sligo to campaign for the Treaty when a public threat was made on his life by the anti-Treaty Irregulars in Sligo.
The revolver is one of a small number of hand pistols, which were smuggled into Ireland with some Thompson machine guns from the USA via Liverpool in the autumn of 1921. It has been established as having been manufactured by Harrington-Richardson in the USA (1904-15) with a calibration to use .38 Smith & Weston cartridges.
The revolver was sourced by Cavan historian Dermot McMonagle who met the granddaughter of the Garda Sergeant who was on duty at St Vincent’s Hospital when Griffith died.
“I made contact with her father and we met. I didn’t realise they had a gun, but when it was presented I was like a child with a toy at Christmas. I suggested a it should go to a museum, either in Dublin or maybe Cavan, which was Griffith’s constituency.”
Savina Donohoe, curator at  Cavan County Museum, is absolutely delighted that the family, who wish to remain anonymous but live in the northwest, generously decided to donate such a significant item to the museum Ballyjamesduff.
The weapon will be decommissioned, cleaned and with further provenance prior to it being put on display along with other memorabilia of the time, in association with the annual Arthur Griffith Lecture next spring.
“It’s a great day for the museum,” enthused Savina. “For the past five years we have been running an annual Arthur Griffith event in the museum and we hope to develop that.
This was always our plan, to have a space dedicated to Arthur Griffith - now this kind donation of this revolver is the start of the work we hope to do.”