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From top: Regency Hotel shooters; Weapons seized during 2014/2015 from ‘dissident Republicans’ displayed at Garda HQ last month

‘Paul Michael Glazer’ writes:

Perhaps your excellent firearms contributor (Mark Dennehy) can help me? I was struck by the age and state of the machine guns used by the gunmen [dressed in Garda uniforms] during the Regency Hotel shooting. Why would wealthy gangsters use ancient, clapped out machine guns?

Then [Crime journalist] Paul Williams said Garda were investigating whether the weapons were “brought in from Libya for the Provisional IRA because it looks like one of the 1970s versions of the AK47. “

And then I recalled your post last month on the dissident Republican weapons put on display at Garda HQ featuring weapons as part of Garda “efforts to disrupt the activities of dissident republicans”.

As I say, I’m no expert but they look very similar and I am wondering if the gangsters stole the guns from Phoenix Park along with the uniforms?

Anyone?

Update:

Paul Michael Glazer adds:

Re: comments (below). I didn’t pose any theories it was a serious question. I am also genuinely interested in what the firearms guy has to say. Why not see if the guards are missing any weapons?

Previously: I Want My MP7

They Seemed Very Calm And Collected

Getting The Shot

Rollingnews

47 thoughts on “Ask A Broadsheet Reader

  1. Disasta

    Look like Romanian AIMs.

    Why would you buy a new gun when the old one can still make mince meat of someone in a car a 100 meters away?

  2. Nigel

    As I understand it, the AK is the cockroach of weaponry, durable, easy to use and manufactured and distributed by the thousands if not the millions. It will be fascinating if they mange to trace them to a source, but they are probably guns of similar appearance in arms caches all over the world.

  3. Digs

    Yes, I’m a fraid these are the same weapons. The jumpsuits however were purchased in homebase. They’re actually just standard workman overalls and have been manipulated to mimic SAS issues. Can’t believe you clocked the guns though…. You clever little monkey!

      1. Dόn 'The Unstoppable Force' Pídgéόní

        How did that just change?!

        There’s a bigger conspiracy right there…

        1. Bertie Blenkinsop

          My sentiments exactly!

          And if you were changing it, wouldn’t you at least spell it properly? :)

          1. MoyestWithExcitement

            Sure last week or the week before, Rotide posted a lot of pretty weird messages and later that day, all of them were under Evey’s name.

          2. Dόn 'The Unstoppable Force' Pídgéόní

            Really??!!

            We are through the looking glass here people.

            Give me more BS conspiracies!!

          3. MoyestWithExcitement

            Yep. Wish I could remember even one of the threads. I thought the posts were pretty odd for Rotide like. They even had his avatar and I think you need a blog or something to have those? Effort is needed, I mean. It’s very odd.

  4. ollie

    Oh look, this gun looks the same as that gun, therefore it is the same gun. After all, there’s only 100 million of them on the planet.
    By the way, Is that a deliberate mistake in the headline?

  5. ____

    Why would they risk getting caught buying/stealing more guns when they’ve already got ones that will make people just as dead?

    Did anyone *really* think the ‘ra/provos got rid of them all and got day-jobs?

  6. Continuity Jay-Z

    Retro hipster gangs. THE WORST! Only artisanal wooden stocks for these lads. No fancy polymer AK100s for these guys.

  7. h

    AK47 – when you absolutely, positively, have to shoot every m*therf*cker in the room

    *sorry, just had to get that out, and yes, I am aware people have pointed out that these are not AK47s

  8. Jake38

    Jurrry Adams has issued a statement saying he has never seen these weapons, and anyone with information on them should immediately contact the Gardaí or the after sales department of the Martin Ferris Maritime Impors company in Kerry, or Mr Ferris’ secretary, Marita Ann.

  9. Robby Cook

    why is nobody mentioning that the bowie knife used as a bayonet strapped to the end of
    one of the AK’s in the Regency pic is also in the garda evidence pic?

  10. Funster Fionnanánn

    Conspiracy mentalness.

    Was it the chemtrails that made them do it?

    I’m only asking, like.

  11. Kieran NYC

    And lo, he looked out on the wondrous new ‘grown-up’ Broadsheet, filled with Leather Jacket Guys, half-assed conspiracies and woefully incoherent Friday columns and thought…

    Da Fuq?

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