Firearm News
Ireland
Irish National Police to be Disarmed Following Review
11 December 2021
Irish Times (Ireland)
The Garda is dramatically reducing the number of members carrying guns as it moves towards a model of having specialist units act as the force's primary firearms response.
The process began last year after a review of the number of armed members was carried out and it was found that more than a quarter (27 per cent or 3,778 gardaí) were carrying firearms. This was close to the proportion of members who were armed at the height of the Troubles in the 1980s.
The 2019... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Irish Times (Ireland)
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Ireland
Ireland Hits Record Gun Ownership
26 September 2021
Independent (Ireland)
There are close to a quarter of a million legally held firearms across the country, figures show, amid concerns of a rise in these weapons being used in murder-suicides.
There are currently 234,000 firearm certificates in circulation, according to Garda Headquarters. This equates to one in eight households in Ireland possessing a legally held firearm.
There is rising concern among gardaí and within the Government over the number of legally held guns being used in... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Independent (Ireland)
40591
Ireland
19,000 Firearms Licensed in Cork, Ireland
22 September 2021
Echo Live (Ireland)
If there are any concerns about a person who has a licence for a gun, that gun should be removed.
That is according to Fine Gael Cork North Central TD Colm Burke, who raised the issue of gun licences at this week's meeting of the Cork City Joint Policing Committee.
He said six people have died in two firearms incidents in Cork and Kerry since last October.
And he added: "We have had huge challenges in the Covid period."
He told The Echo: "The use of a gun is just... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Echo Live (Ireland)
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United States,Botswana,Cook Islands,Fiji,Iceland,Ireland,Kiribati,Malawi,Marshall Islands,Nauru,New Zealand,Niue,Norway,Samoa,Solomon Islands,Tonga,Tuvalu,United Kingdom,Vanuatu,Virgin Islands (US)
The 19 Countries That Do Not Arm Their Police Officers
19 July 2017
CNN
A woman who called 911 to report a nearby crime was killed by a US police officer last weekend. The circumstances surrounding her death are still unclear.
The fatal shooting of Justine Ruszczyk, a dual Australian-US national who had settled in Minnesota in 2014, has made headlines in both her native Australia and her adopted home in Minneapolis – once again reigniting the all too familiar debate surrounding the role that firearms play in both law enforcement and in... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: CNN
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Ireland
New Irish Taskforce Targets 'People Running Around With Guns'
15 July 2016
Irish Examiner (Dublin)
A 50-strong taskforce to tackle gangland crime will be unveiled by the Government next week
The gardaí, drawn from experienced crime investigators, will be appointed to the Special Crime Task Force on a full-time basis.
Plans for the taskforce were announced by Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald and Garda commissioner Nóirín O'Sullivan on May 31 as part of their response to organised crime and the murderous Kinahan-Hutch feud.
Seven people had been killed by that... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Irish Examiner (Dublin)
39580
United Kingdom,Ireland,Norway,Iceland,New Zealand,United States
5 Countries Where Police Don't Carry Guns, and It Works [ES]
9 July 2016
El Dinamo (Chile)
[Translated summary: In Britain, Ireland, Norway, Iceland and New Zealand, officers don't carry guns when they are on patrol. The effectiveness of this strategy is reflected in the low crime rates of these countries. Some experts believe that, in the US, both citizens and police should be disarmed to make it safer.]
Tras los violentos hechos registrados en Estados Unidos durante esta semana, el Washington Post reveló los particulares casos que se viven en Gran... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: El Dinamo (Chile)
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United States,Norway,Finland,Spain,Iceland,New Zealand,United Kingdom,Ireland
Handling Violence in Countries Where Police Don't Carry Guns
9 July 2016
Quartz (USA)
Another week, another police shooting in the United States. So far this year, 569 people have been killed by US police, according to The Guardian's count. Police brutality is a horrific normality and, in more ways than one, black men being shot by police has become the modern-day equivalent of lynching.
But, of course, it doesn't have to be this way. A police officer does not have to shoot to kill and, in several countries, a police officer does not even have to carry... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Quartz (USA)
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Ireland
Farmers' Lobby Protests Online-only Gun Licensing in Ireland
16 May 2016
Farming Life
Countryside Alliance Ireland (CAI), The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), and the Gun Trade Guild Northern Ireland (GTG NI) had been working in partnership with the PSNI's Firearms and Explosives Branch since late 2015 on the development of online application forms.
In late April, however, PSNI publicly announced plans to scrap paper applications completely, moving 100 per cent to online applications by July/August this year. Countryside groups... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Farming Life
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Ireland,United States
IRA Florida Gun-Running Case is Reopened
9 April 2014
BBC News
Police are to reinvestigate claims that the Provisional IRA bought guns from America and smuggled them into Northern Ireland in the late 1990s.
It follows a BBC Spotlight programme that alleged a senior member of Sinn Féin was involved in a gun-running operation from Florida.
A self-confessed gun-runner told the programme Sean 'Spike' Murray was involved in smuggling guns before and after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
Mr Murray has denied the allegations.
The... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
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Slovenia,Malta,El Salvador,Denmark,Croatia,Hungary,Finland,Estonia,France,Spain,Italy,Bulgaria,United Kingdom,Germany,Slovakia,Ireland,Latvia,Romania
Methodists Welcome 18 Countries Ratifying Arms Trade Treaty Including UK
3 April 2014
Christian Today
The Methodist Church has praised the government's ratification of the UN's Arms Trade Treaty.
The President of the Methodist Conference, the Reverend Ruth Gee, hailed it as a "legal milestone that should help to protect those who are abused and oppressed".
Countries that ratify the treaty will be required to establish national arms regulators to control the exporting of conventional weapons and weapons components, and to properly regulate arms brokers. Domestic weapon... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Christian Today
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Italy,United Kingdom,Slovakia,Germany,Romania,France,Spain,Bulgaria,Croatia,Malta,Denmark,El Salvador,Estonia,Finland,Hungary,Ireland,Slovenia,European Union,Latvia
18 Countries Ratify UN Arms Trade Treaty
2 April 2014
Associated Press
UNITED NATIONS — Eighteen countries, including five of the world's leading arms exporters, ratified a landmark treaty regulating the multibillion-dollar global arms trade on Wednesday, giving a significant boost to the campaign for the treaty's entry into force.
The ambassadors of the 18 countries handed over the documents at a U.N. ceremony on the first anniversary of the General Assembly's adoption of the Arms Trade Treaty, which is aimed at stemming the global... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Associated Press
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Ireland
Irish Gun Control Review Sparks Calls for Compensation
1 March 2014
Journal (Dublin)
A review of firearm licensing in Ireland has prompted questions over how gun owners will be compensated if they lose currently legal guns.
The Department of Justice confirmed that a joint review of licensing is currently underway with An Garda Síochána, although no concrete proposals are yet in place.
Licenses can be sought for a number of different firearms from the age of 16.
Sport and hunting
It is thought that over 200,000 licenses have currently be issued,... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Journal (Dublin)
38424
Ireland,European Union
Gun Club Owner Found with Machine Gun, 13,000 Rounds of Ammo in Ireland
1 March 2014
Irish Examiner (Dublin)
Gardaí found more than 13,000 rounds of ammunition and a rifle that had been modified to fire like a machine gun, when they searched a man's home in Co Limerick, a court heard yesterday.
A vast array of ammunition and guns, as well as an army helmet, gunpowder, night vision scopes, crossbows and arrow heads were discovered in the home of gun club operator David O'Dea, aged 48, on June 20, 2011, Kilmallock District Court was told.
Gardaí said they also discovered a... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Irish Examiner (Dublin)
38423
Ireland
Eight Guns Lost or Stolen Every Week in Ireland Last Year
24 February 2014
Herald (Dublin)
Almost 1,300 firearms, including shotguns and rifles, have been lost or stolen over the past four years.
Official figures obtained by the Herald show around 1,134 registered weapons, mainly shotguns and rifles, were stolen in the last four years.
Some 159 weapons were lost, most of which were shotguns, but also included in the list are 18 rifles and one airgun, which went missing last year.
Last year alone eight firearms were lost or stolen every week.
There are... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Herald (Dublin)
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Ireland
Authorisation to Carry Guns Full-Time in Uniformed Irish's Gardai
1 January 2014
Independent (Dublin)
This is the first time that uniformed gardai have been given permission to carry guns full-time since the foundation of the force almost a century ago. The move has been sanctioned after a review of the operation of the five regional support units (RSUs) since their introduction in 2008.
Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan has ordered that all the regional response units will be permanently armed after a rise in the number of incidents requiring garda firepower.
The... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Independent (Dublin)
38890
Ireland
Gun-Related Deaths Down in Ireland
30 December 2013
Independent (Dublin)
Murders linked to organised crime have dropped significantly in the past year, even though the overall death toll has only dropped slightly.
After a big jump in the number of murders committed in 2012, this year's total of 51 is down just one on the same period last year.
Knife and gun-related deaths have decreased this year - but there has been a rise in the use of physical violence by killers.
Statistics compiled up to yesterday show that eight murders are being... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Independent (Dublin)
38231
Ireland
Irish Man Jailed After Killing Friend in Shotgun Dare After Gun Safety Fails
3 December 2013
Irish Times (Dublin)
A man who shot and killed his friend after the victim had dared him to pull the trigger of a gun has been jailed for four years.
Craig Mullarney (22) told gardaí that Kris Emmet (21), had assured him that the double-barrelled shotgun's safety catch was on. Ballistics tests on the legally held firearm over a year later found that the weapon would go off even when the safety catch was on.
Mullarney of Sheepmoor Avenue, Clonsilla, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Irish Times (Dublin)
38144
Iraq,Syria,Israel,India,Ireland,Togo,Canada,United States,Afghanistan,Côte d'Ivoire,Iran,Sri Lanka,Germany,Russia
Growing Number of Personalised Firearms to Boost Safety Available
30 November 2013
Economist
To help push Soviet forces out of Afghanistan in the 1980s, America's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) gave Afghan fighters shoulder-launched Stinger anti-aircraft missiles (pictured). Accurate and easy-to-use, the Stingers caused grievous losses. But after the Soviet withdrawal in 1989, the CIA wanted to discourage the use of the leftover missiles. It got hold of some of those circulating on the black market and booby-trapped them, so that anyone who tried to fire one... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Economist
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Ireland
Northern Ireland Children Aged 12 Could Be Allowed to Fire Guns
11 November 2013
Belfast Telegraph
The thought of a shotgun in the hands of a 12-year-old may send a shiver down your spine – but it could become a reality in the next few years.
Justice Minister David Ford is considering lowering the age at which young people can have supervised access to shotguns and air rifles from 18 to 12.
British Association for Shooting and Conservation NI director Tommy Mayne said it should be lowered further – to 10, the age of criminal responsibility.
It seems a lot of... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Belfast Telegraph
38064
European Union,Ireland
EU Survey Reveals Irish Gun Escalation Fears, Law Reform Considered
21 October 2013
Independent (Dublin)
Almost three-quarters of Irish people think gun crime is going to escalate, a report has found.
As the European Commission called for tighter controls on firearms including stricter licensing, it released findings of a survey which showed 71% of Irish people expect an increase in gun violence in the next five years, compared to an average of 58% across the continent.
Brussels said it wants to use new laws, including possible minimum sentencing, to tackle the threats... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Independent (Dublin)
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