The gun that fired the shot that heralded the beginning of the end of the British Empire

The pinhead rifle that heralded the 1916 Rising is among many lots at Whyte's Eclectic Collector online auction

The revolver that fired the first shot of The Rising at Whyte's.

On March 21, 1916, a day after Captain Peadar Bracken fired a pinfire revolver during an attack by the RIC following a meeting of Irish Volunteers in Tullamore. Padraig Pearse said: "The first blood has been spilled and the first blow struck in defence of the Volunteers' right to carry arms."

Just over one month later, on April 24, the Rising began. Though no one realised it at the time, that shot heralded the beginning of the end of the British Empire. The gun from which it was fired is at Whyte's Eclectic Collector online auction at 2pm tomorrow, Sunday. Lot 144 is estimated at €8,000-€10,000.