12 gauge Winchester shotgun, 1897

12 gauge Winchester shotgun, 1897

This 12 gauge Winchester shotgun, 1897 model, was given to Surgeon H. Barnaville by Major General Tom Cullen. Cullen was a member of The Squad, also known as The 12 Apostles, the counter-intelligence and assassination group founded by Michael Collins. Cullen told Barnaville that the shotgun had belonged to Collins.  While Collins was not known for being a gunman, he was responsible for providing many firearms to IRA men. Because of this there are many guns labelled as having belonged to Michael Collins.