William Hacket Pain - Larne Gun Running

Larne Gun Running

Just as the Ulster Volunteers knew they needed armaments, the British authorities were keen to stop them from landing guns on Irish shores. At the end of March 1914, just as the Ulster Volunteers were readying for an imminent civil war, a Norwegian steamer called Fanny was filled full of 35,000 rifles from Germany, and gave its destination as "Öreland" (sic). Two English-speaking people were said to be on board. The owners of the ship insisted that the destination was in fact South America, and some connected the cargo with the Mexican Revolution, but on 25 April the Fanny (disguised as the Mountjoy) landed its cargo at Larne, Bangor and Donaghadee having outwitted Customs. The Ulster Volunteers had been given a general mobilisation order on Friday 24 April and made sure that all roads leading to the disembarking centres had been blocked and that key telephone wires had been cut. 500 cars were used to distribute the rifles.

According to his obituary in The Times, Hacket Pain "was always believed to have planned and carried out" this operation. Timothy Bowman's history notes that Hacket Pain was given the credit but that Fred Crawford, who organised the shipment, regarded him as a 'dove' in the ruling councils of the Volunteers. However it is known that Hacket Pain wrote to Crawford in January 1914 asking for a statement of the arms which Crawford had already imported, and requesting Crawford to undertake further gun-running if authorised by Edward Carson. After their safe landing, he issued a memorandum instructing all units that "in the event of any attempt being made to seize arms, etc. ... intimation will be given to the officers in charge of the Constabulary that their armed attempt will be promptly and firmly resisted."