The decades-long dispute over the cannons’ ownership raised fears they might become a target for the Provisional IRA.
The cannons, each measuring nine feet by six feet, were reportedly removed in the early 1970s from a shipwreck near the Metal Man in Tramore Bay, southeast Ireland. According to documents from the National Archives in Dublin, they were later displayed as tourist attractions at the Royal Armouries and Tower of London without any acknowledgment of their Irish origins.
Known as “sakers,” these cannons were cast in the 1540s by the Owen Brothers for King Henry VIII and bore the Tudor rose. Only 10 examples of such cannons are known to have survived, with an estimated value of at least £30,000 each in the early 1990s.
Irish authorities launched an investigation after reports in the Sunday Press and Times of London suggested the cannons were smuggled out of Irish waters by a “gang of British treasure hunters.” Allegedly, they were sold at a “knock-down price” of £3,250 in an Essex scrap yard to a senior Tower official, who did not inquire about their origins.
The records reveal repeated attempts by Irish officials, including representatives from the National Museum of Ireland, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the chief State solicitor, to secure the cannons’ return.
The Maritime Institute of Ireland informed the Tower that both Irish and English laws had been violated, as the failure to report the cannons to the Receiver of Wreck—an official body responsible for recording significant maritime finds—breached legal requirements.
A 1993 report by Eamon P. Kelly, Acting Keeper of Irish Antiquities at the National Museum of Ireland, noted that Tower officials had grown “defensive” by 1974. They claimed there was “no evidence” the cannons were “recently removed from the sea bed,” suggesting they might have been found off the Sussex coast and that the Irish provenance story was fabricated as a cover.
Despite these claims, the Receiver of Wreck confirmed that the cannons had not been reported to its office by 1992.
By late 1992, the Royal Armouries expressed a desire to resolve the issue, citing concerns about the Provisional IRA potentially targeting the cannons. This was fuelled by negative publicity in the British and Irish press and fears linked to a previous IRA bombing incident.
While some British officials were sympathetic to the Irish claim, the Royal Armouries argued that public funds were used to acquire the cannons and required proof of Ireland’s valid legal claim before conceding ownership.
Kelly’s report concluded it was “clear” British authorities knew the cannons were recovered from Irish waters and were thus Irish State property under Irish law. Based on this evidence, Ireland’s embassy in London formally requested the immediate return of the cannons from the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office.