An Irish Musket
Artefact
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| Eighteenth century Irish flintlock Brown Bess musket |
This flintlock Brown Bess musket was made by Farrell McDermott, a gun maker of 1 Abbey Street, Dublin from 1790 to 1840. Variations of this musket were used by the British Army Infantry from 1722 to 1838.
Reloading involved ramming the charge and ball down the barrel from the muzzle. For this the soldier had to stand, or at best kneel, leaving him vulnerable to enemy fire. The lock holding a flint struck a steel plate when the trigger was depressed, dropping a spark onto the powder. Its advantages were that it could be brought into action quickly and it was more effective in wet weather.
The mechanics of firing this gun created phrases still in use today, such as 'a flash in the pan' and 'going off at half cock'.
