Irish (?) contract No4 rifles

[Seaspriter]

Frederick (known as Fritz on Gunboards)

Thanks Frederick/Fritz. It's great to have data/evidence based on detailed research. Thanks for taking the time to dig into the historical record -- it really helps unscramble fact from speculation. Looking forward to your next post.

Reading between the lines, the Brits, who, at the time, were less than trusting of the Irish (and vice versus), figured they could sell the Irish shed load of soon to be obsolete rifles and keep the production lines at Fazakerley running and the union happy. Obviously it required MoD to approve the sale, which made political and economic sense as well. MoD was probably quite aware of the phase-out/phase-in schedule for the new NATO rifles -- something the Irish were not aware of.

Guess we are now the beneficiaries of such tom-foolery. Strange how events of the past take on a life of their own.