Machine gun cog, Liberty Hall, 1916

Machine gun cog, Liberty Hall, 1916

A cog for a homemade machine gun being built at Liberty Hall for the 1916 Rising. Preparations for the 1916 Rising had included obtaining rifles and ammunition by gun-running or relieving British soldiers of their weapons, and making pikes and home-made bombs. While the rebel forces did not have access to artillery, it was stated by Irish Citizen Army member Nellie Gifford Donnelly that this cog was part of a machine gun being made at Liberty Hall for the Rising. We know that no machine guns were used by the Irish during this time, and it is probable that the Liberty Hall machine gun was never completed.