Irish law allows firearm possession on may-issue basis. With approximately seven civilian firearms per 100 people, Ireland is the 107th most armed country in the world.
Firearms in the Republic of Ireland are strictly controlled, both with strict legislation governing licensing, and fastidious application of that legislation by the Gardaí. The legislation has multiple overlapping Firearms Acts that define it, but the core principles include: all firearms must be licensed individually, each applicant must have a good reason for having the firearm, must have a safe place in which to use it, must have a secure place in which to store it, and to be of sound mind and temperate habits.
The Firearms Act, 1925 states that a legal licence is required by law to own or possess a firearm in the Irish Republic. Failure to adhere to the law may result in monetary fines or imprisonment and can result in firearms being seized by the Gardaí. The Firearms Act, 1925 also lists a number of groups which are prohibited from legally owning a firearm, these include those suffering from mental health issues, those under the age of fifteen years and those who are under the supervision of the police
Gun crime is rising steadily in Ireland as a result of the illicit drugs trade; this has resulted in extensive tightening of licensing legislation during the last decade over the protests of the shooting sports organisations.
With the exception of the recent rise in gun crime, politics in Ireland has not concerned itself very much with firearms since the Good Friday Agreement. Firearms do not have widespread visibility in most of Irish life outside farming and the shooting sports.
There are a wide range of shooting sports and shooting sports organisational bodies in Ireland. The main entry points to the shooting sports remain family, college clubs and the Irish Pony Club (who run a tetrathlon event that involves shooting). Newer entry points including corporate shooting events and "tryout days" for events like Modern Pentathlon have appeared in recent years but have not yet eclipsed the more established channels.
Overview of law
There is no right to own firearms in Ireland. Firearms generally require a firearms certificate (commonly referred to as a licence) in Ireland, though several exceptions to this (such as couriers transporting firearms or people shooting at authorized fairground stalls or shooting ranges with club-owned firearms) are specified in sections 2(3) and 2(4) of the Firearms Act.
To obtain a firearms certificate, applicants file a form with either their local Garda Superintendent (for unrestricted firearms) or to their local Garda Chief Superintendent (for restricted firearms). Once presented, the licensing person has three months in which to issue a grant or refusal of the certificate. If the licensing person does not communicate a decision to the applicant within the three months, the applicant is deemed to have been informed of a refusal. If a licence is refused, the applicant may appeal the decision to the local District Court, who are the final authority for licensing (while a District Court's decision may be appealed, the District Court itself must overturn the licensing person's decision should the appeal be successful). The certificate lasts three years from the date of issue.