Most people are familiar with Winchester rifles sold to European countries, such as France and Belgium.
There is one rare Winchester variant that most people are unaware of. This is because the sale and exportation was carried out in the utmost secrecy.
In 1897, Ireland was in a state of change and upheaval. A recent famine in 1879-1880 had brought attention to the state of agriculture and land ownership in Ireland, and changes to the owner/tenant system were being argued and enacted. Railroad construction meant the country was now linked by tale and travel was easier. Larger numbers Irish, especially young women, were still emigrating to England and America, and the English were still amazed that despite improvements in land ownership and tenant leases the Irish were still dissatisfied with English rule demanded freedom.
While modern advances were being made, such as the establishment of the Irish Motor Car and Cycle Company, there was also a focus on old Irish history and the supernatural realm. George Sigerson published his translated anthology
Bards of the Gael and Gall. Dora Sigerson Shorter published
The Fairy Changeling, and Other Poems. In 1897, Bram Stoker's novel
Dracula, based loosely on Irish legends, was also published.
So it is no wonder that sightings of both abhartachs and kelpies increased, spreading terror across the rural areas of Ireland. The British proved shockingly unwilling to provide assistance, and the Irish constabulary of the time were tied to their British counterparts. So the Irish formed a committee to discuss a solution. Following a number of secret meetings, it was decided that they would form a secret militia to protect the countryside from these threats. This militia would be divided into local squads which would patrol their area of responsibility in teams of two or three men. Responsibility for organizing and leading this militia fell to Patrick O'Blairney, who appointed Sean Malarkey as Chief Inspector of Ordnance. Inspector Malarkey was responsible for procuring a standard carbine for use by the squads. The weapon was required to meet the following criteria:
The Carbine must be short and light, easy to carry and lively in handling.
The Carbine must avoid unnecessary length and bulk, to be more easily concealed about the persons and dwellings of the members of the force, to prevent discovery by the British.
The Carbine must be of a sufficiently powerful caliber to despatch the Kelpie when it takes the form of a horse.
The Carbine must be a repeater, capable of rapid fire and a large capacity of ammunition.
The sights must be rugged but adjustable for long ranges.
![Image](https://762precision.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/rossi-92-454-spanish-meter-sight.jpg?w=600)
Inspector Malarkey had a cousin named Bell O'Nay who had emigrated to America during the famine, and secured a critical job at the Winchester plant. Malarkey sent a message to O'Nay, who immediately left her custodial duties without so much as picking up the pile of sweepings she left in the middle of the factory floor and burst into a board meeting. Winchester executives were discussing the feasibility of making ugly, squarish-shaped auto-loading pistols using synthetic materials. At the moment O'Nay burst into the board room, John Browning had just vomited across the conference table upon seeing the concept drawings of the proposed pistol and the entire board room was in a state of consternation and upheaval.
It should come as no surprise that O'Nay was unceremoniously ejected from the room with a warning of termination.
This may have ended the procurement attempt for the new carbines, but for a fortunate event. O'Ney, in her confusion, dropped the letter containing the Malarkey request. A young Winchester salesman named Hezekiah Flummery recoverd the letter and became convinced of its authenticity. Thus began the top secret dealing between Winchester and the Irish militia. The sale was code-named CASTLE, and Winchester began adjusting their popular 1892 carbine to fit the needs of the Irish.
The first 50 carbines were delivered secretly to the Irish via a tramp freighter named the
Inanity, and entered service almost immediately. Two were put through trials, one was kept in almost new condition, and the rest were issued to patrols.
The carbine proved a great success. Trooper Crock was the first to successfully use a Malarkey Carbine, which he had affectionally named
Horsefeathers, to despatch a Kelpie. According to Trooper Twaddle, who was present at the the scene, "Myself and Trooper Crock, while patrolling the cliffs near the sea shore, encountered a large Kelpie. He was traveling with great speed near the edge of the cliff. His mane was dripping and he had a young lady upon his back. Trooper Crock immediately fired three times in quick succession, causing the beast to crash to the ground, unseating the girl that was ridding upon his back. The beast rolled over the edge of the cliff and was impaled upon the rocks below, where his carcass remained until the next high tide. The young lady at first appeared to be unhurt, but was confused and smelled strangely of seaweed. We later concluded that she had injured her head, for she spoke incoherently and accused us of shooting her horse. She proved singularly ungrateful and soon ran off. We lost her in the mist before we were able to render aid."
There was some confusion surrounding a report by a nearby landowner, Lord Balderdash, that his daughter had been accosted by unknown persons who, without provocation, shot and killed a prize horse. It was later determined that the two events, while highly coincidental, were completely unrelated.
This was the only historically proven use of the Irish Malarkey carbines in an actual engagement. Unfortunate events soon ended the carbine program.
It is a well establish fact that the Irish cannot do anything without singing about it in a pub. This is exactly what happened with the O'Blairney Militia. One night a British officer, Leftenant Popicock, was out of uniform drinking in an Irish pub, when he overheard a ballad about the exploits of the O'Blairney militia. It was a beautiful and sad ballad in which the Militia fought bravely to save the Irish population of virtuous young ladies in its entirety, each fell in love with the fairest of said maidens, but were cruelly betrayed and executed by the British before they could consummate their love with the young ladies that married them in moving but tragic prison ceremonies. It was very tragic and romantic.
The Leftenant quickly left the pub to inform his Colonel. On the way, he met Sergeant Bosh in the street and, rather forcefully and with alcoholic fumes, expounded on his suspicions. Sgt. Bosh leaned as far backward as practical while dispensing some fatherly advice to the leftenent, using comforting words such as, "sleep it off."
Unfortunately for the leftenant, the conversation was overheard, and he was found near Colonal Farce's quarters the next morning with a large hole through his body in a location not advantageous for a long, healthy life. The hole was found to be a .45" hole, which is not surprising, as it was a common bore diameter for firearms in service at the time.
However, some light was shed on the murder by the Colonel's Indian orderly, Hokum, who reported observing the event. "The leftenant was shot by a man in dark clothing with a very American-looking rifle with a floppy-lever-thingy on the bottom," the orderly reported. This sounds very serious, unless you imagine it stated in an excited Mumbai accent (I recommend you try it out loud), which makes it impossible to keep a straight face, even if you are British. This explains the lightened mood of the British officers, who left the whole matter to enlisted men and marched off to have tea.
This would have ended the matter, had Sgt. Bosh not reported the concisely slurred report he had received from the Leftenant the night previous. This was a catalyst for an investigation, which would have uncovered nothing, had the investigators chosen to return to the barracks at night instead of drinking and listening to ballades in bars. As the investigation closed in, the militia disbanded, members went into hiding in local pubs, and the 50 carbines disappeared. Completely lost to history, their whereabouts are unknown to this day.
However, I have one in my possession that I acquired from an old Irish friend named Packy O'Prattle. He told me that his grandfather recovered the carbine from a very short old man in a red coat and hat that was trying to steal a stone from a wall of the Blarney Castle. The strange little man offered Packy's grandfather three wishes, but being of a practical nature, he just confiscated the carbine and let him go.
![Image](https://762precision.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/rossi-545-1.jpg?w=900)
The final configuration of the carbine, which came to be known as the Irish Malarkey carbine, was a 20" Model 92 chambered in the experimental .45 Extra Long Colt. It had a tangent rear peep sight marked in meters, and sling swivels added to the left side of the stock and forend. Finish was blued with case hardened lever, trigger, hammer, bolt and barrel bands. Since the Irish have a flair for extravagance, nitre blue screws and sling swivels were specified.
The caliber was .45 Extra Long Colt. This obscure experimental cartridge that was not really used in the US and faded into obscurity. Since Winchester did not want to put the Colt name on their rifle, they simply came up with a three digit caliber designation. The rifle was marked strangely. The barrel was simply marked with the name of the captain of the tramp steamer that transported the carbines to Ireland, followed by the three digit caliber designation, and code name for the operation. A strange mistake in marking the barrel led to one of the most amazing coincidences in the history of firearms and ammunition development. A Winchester employee accidentally misspelled the code word CASTLE, and it was marked incorrectly on the barrels, just after the caliber marking. Decades after the original cartridge was completely forgotten by the world, a guy developed an identical cartridge, and put his name on it, which, amazingly , is spelled
exactly as the misspelled markings on the Irish Malarkey carbine barrels!
Here are the photos - the only known Irish Malarkey Carbine in existence. Undoubtedly, the value is inestimable.
![Image](https://762precision.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/rossi-454-barrel-markings.jpg?w=1000)
Notice the barrel markings above, beginning with the name of the captain of the tramp steamer
Inanity. Not only can the Malarkey Carbine fire a modern but totally unrelated cartridge, through an accidental misspelling of a top-secret code name, the carbines are even marked correctly for the modern cartridge!