The Royal Irish Constabulary: A History and Personal Memoir (Classics of Irish History)

Published for the first time, this memoir by a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) provides many insights into life as an Irish policeman in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, during Ireland's turbulent years of the Land War right up to the Irish War of Independence. Thomas Fennell (1857-1948) paints a lively picture of the daily activities of a highly regimented force, constantly under hierarchical scrutiny from Dublin Castle. He is acutely aware of the ambivalent position of the RIC drawn largely from the sons of tenant and small farmers yet supporting the Ascendancy and the landowning classes. Fennell was a nationalist yet retained a loyalty to and pride in the force. He criticizes the repressive behavior of the large police force dispersed in the countryside in some of its day-to-day activities, and explains that during the Land War the population at large understood that the police were carrying out work that they often found distasteful.