T.W Murray & Co. Ltd is one of the oldest established businesses on Cork City's main thoroughfare.
The gun shop drew the interest of the Cork IRA in the early days of the War of Independence and on a Winters night in 1919 they decided to go there for a "shopping spree"!
Murrays on Pana, still trading today.
A party of ten IRA volunteers from the 1st Battalion Cork No.1 Brigade were involved in the raid on Murrays gun shop.
Two men watched shop manager George O'Connell close the premises at 6pm and head for the tram home. The two IRA men followed him onto the tram and as they reached Commons Road the two IRA men took Mr O'Connell off the tram at gun point.
The shop manager was taken to Lucy's Field where two other IRA men were waiting with ropes. They tied up Mr O'Connell and took his keys to the gun shop. While two IRA men stayed with O'Connell, the other two headed back to Patrick Street with the keys.
Murrays on the left of this early 20th century postcard.
A car waited outside the shop while the IRA men were busy removing guns and ammo from it. The arms were wrapped up in canvas and taken from the shop to the waiting car.
Among the guns taken were 7 single barrel shotguns which had been dropped into the shop for repair by a local Anglo landlord. One of the shotguns was an antique priced at £500!
Even though there were four RIC men patrolling Pana that night they failed to notice the raid taking place at Murrays gun shop!
The raiders took as much as they could and loaded up the car which then drove off unnoticed in the direction of Blarney where the arms were stored in an arms dump there.
At 11pm Mr O'Connell was let go. He dashed back to the premises and found most of it's contents gone. He reported the raid to Tuckey Street RIC station and had less than kind words for the constables who failed to notice the raid!
Witness Statement from Lieutenant Stephen Foley, G Company, 1st Batt, Cork No.1 Brigade IRA.
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