Sir, – Mártan Ó Conghaile’s letter (August 4th) is very selective on the Royal Irish Constabulary’s role in Irish life. Of course, many members of the RIC took part in evictions, and some were rather brutal in dealing with civil unrest, especially those who took part in the shameful murder of Tomás Mac Curtain, lord mayor of Cork, in 1920.
But by 1914, the RIC had won grudging respect from the population at large and went about the normal duties of any police force: the apprehending of criminals, the issuing of licences for guns, the maintenance of law and order, and so on.
However, the semi-military nature of the force and the fact they carried arms led them into direct conflict with those who sought to gain independence by armed struggle. Their assistance to the hated Black and Tans ended their support from the law-abiding majority and there were few regrets when they were finally disbanded in 1922.
However, the success of the nascent unarmed Garda Síochána had its roots in selecting the better elements of the old RIC, but also ensuring the new force had support from the communities they were serving. Some of the new gardaí were ex-RIC, and many of the new civil guards (like John McGahern’s father) married into old RIC families.
History is never kind to the losers but Sebastian Barry’s novels have tried to put across the human side of the families of former members of the RIC and the Dublin Metropolitan Police.
It is ironic the only church memorial to the disbanded force is the RIC chapel in Westminster Cathedral here in London as the majority of the force were Roman Catholics.
Perhaps one day there will be a memorial to the more constructive legacy of the RIC in the Republic. – Yours, etc,
BERNARD O’GRADY,
Queens Avenue,
Muswell Hill,
London
A chara, – There is merit in Chris Ryder’s proposal (Opinion Analysis, August 1st) that it is time to commemorate the members of the RIC. The majority of these men joined the police force from the best of motives and did their job in an honourable way.
Oddly enough, support for the notion there were many decent men in the force comes from the writings of Tom Barry, the republican commander who probably levelled more police barracks than anyone else.
The attack by Barry’s flying column on the RIC barracks in Roscarberry, Co Cork, was one of the fiercest and most sustained firefights in the War of Independence, but police officers fleeing the scene were allowed to escape without being shot at and, when the garrison finally surrendered, the wounded were taken to the nearby convent for basic medical treatment. Barry himself paid tribute to these particular RIC men, stating they “had not killed or wounded a single citizen nor had they burned houses”. They had, in fact, intervened when soldiers “were clubbing and beating defenceless men”.
In light of the fact that most RIC officers were, literally, caught up in a crossfire between republican and crown forces, it may now be time to look at their history in a fairer way. – Is mise,
Cllr MICHAEL O’DONOVAN,
Council Offices,
Blanchardstown,
Dublin 15
Sir, – The predicable call to commemorate the RIC is hardly surprising. However, are we that self-loathing to really want to celebrate the actions of our colonial police force?
Can you imagine such calls being made in India, Africa or the United States? Are we that prostrate as a people? Why stop there? Maybe we should also celebrate the yeomanry, militia and other “defenders” of the Irish people over the centuries? – Yours, etc,
Dr GORDON KENNEDY,
Botanic Road,
Glasnevin,
Dublin 9