Revolver
This revolver is reputed to have been used in an incident, during the Civil War, at Ballymacool House, Letterkenny, Co Donegal. In early June 1922, Ballymacool and Rockhill Houses in Letterkenny were taken over by Anti-Treaty forces. Under the command of Capt Paddy Harkin, armed men removed the tenants of Ballymacool House, Major Brett, Resident Magistrate and Mrs Brett.
On the 29th June, a day after the Civil War began, Pro Treaty forces stationed in Letterkenny were ordered to recapture both houses. At 5am, they left Letterkenny to attack the Anti-Treaty force based at Ballymacool House. The occupants were given an hour to surrender. The order was ignored and 15 minutes after it elapsed, the Pro Treaty force opened fire. Following a short gun battle, a number of Anti-Treaty men were arrested, two of whom were injured and a small number escaped through the gardens. Ballymacool House was retaken along with rifles, revolvers, hand grenades, a large quantity of ammunition and two cars.
The revolver was donated to the Museum by Mr Barney Sweeney, Letterkenny. It is on display in the Museum but it is also available to view online as part of Donegal County Museum’s Sketchfab 3D collection.