By Pat McNulty
The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) was the quasi-military police force in Ireland until 1922. The ethnic and religious makeup of the RIC broadly matched that of the Irish population, although Anglo-Irish Protestants were over-represented among senior officers. During the War of Independence, it faced ostracization, boycotts and attacks by the Irish Republican Army (IRA). At times there were Irish Catholic Constables enforcing British law on their fellow citizens. There were mutinies and desertions. In fact, the first troops sent to address the 1916 Rising were predominantly Catholic.
As the war escalated, the RIC was reinforced with recruits from Britain, the Black and Tans. 13,732 new recruits were added to the RIC from early 1920 to the Truce in 1921. They had to wear makeshift khaki uniforms, ergo their name. These were mostly World War I veterans and convicted criminals. The Auxiliary Division (ADRIC) or “Auxies” wore distinctive Tam o’ Shanter caps and operated in counter-insurgency unit independent of other RIC formations. They first arrived in Ireland on March 25, 1920. They militarized the RIC and committed atrocities on the Irish public, further aggrandizing anti-British sentiment. Raping, killing for sport, torture and assassination were on their menu. A great example of this occurs in the film “The Wind that Shakes the Barley” (I recommend watching in English subtitles). The Black and Tans legacy has been passed down from generation to generation of Irish families. (See anecdote.) The nicest thing I could say about the Black and Tans is that the Ulster Volunteer Force was worse.
Irish Minister of Justice Charlie Flanagan proposed to host a commemoration service for members of the RIC and Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP) on January 17, 2020. The DMP was an unarmed police force. While this could be seen as a gesture of peaceful reconciliation, recognizing the service of Irish public servants, a public outcry against soon ensued and even Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadakar spoke against it. At present, this commemoration is “postponed.”
One amazing result of this controversy is the song “Come Out Ye Black and Tans”, a 1972 Number One hit for the Wolfe Tones, also charted Number One in Ireland in January 2020. The Wolfe Tones announced the profits from this “new” blockbuster would be donated to an Irish homeless charity. This song was used on occasion by Irish political party Sinn Féin during the 2020 general election. The song was written by Dominic Behan and references his father Stephen:
Come Out Ye Black and Tans
I was born on a Dublin street where the royal drums did beat And the loving English feet they went all over us And every single night when me dad would come home tight He’d invite the neighbors out with this chorus
CHORUS Come out ye Black and Tans, come out and fight me like a man Show your wife how you won medals down in Flanders Tell them how the IRA made you run like hell away From the green and lovely lanes of Killashandra
Come tell us how you slew them poor Arabs two by two Like the Zulus they had spears and bows and arrows How you bravely you faced one with your 16-pounder gun And you frightened them natives to their marrow CHORUS
Come let us hear you tell how you slandered great Parnell When you thought him well and truly persecuted Where are the sneers and jeers that you bravely let us hear When our heroes of ‘16 were executed? CHORUS
The day is coming fast And the time is here at last When each yeoman will be cast aside before us And if there be a need Sure my kids will sing “Godspeed!” With a verse or two of Stephen Behan’s chorus CHORUS
My grandmother, Ann Doherty McNulty, was a member of Cumman na mBan (The Women’s Council), the Irish Republican women’s paramilitary organization. She was a sprigger-she did all kinds of needlework. She was from Boggagh, Kilcar County Donegal. She would travel to southwest Donegal and sell her wares and take on commissions. She carried her crafts in a basket. She also carried messages for the IRA in that same basket. Her brother Patrick Doherty was the local Non-commissioned Officer of the IRA.
Patrick participated in the first IRA action in Southwest Donegal. The IRA was woefully short on arms. The policemen from Killybegs would come fully-armed to the Kilcar Fair. The IRA hatched a plan to ambush three policemen at the Bavin Gate (a narrow turn on the mountainous road). The attack occurred July 26, 1920. The police sergeant was wounded and gave up his arms. The other two policemen rode their bicycles all the way to the Coast Guard Station in Teelin. From then on, they would only travel in an armored car.
Patrick organized what was known as a “flying column,” an IRA band that would take action against the British. They committed ambushes and attacks on barracks. Some of the ruins of these burned-out barracks are still visible today. They were “on the run” and had to be careful where they stayed. Pat and family created a “dugout” by a mountain stream, a small cave where he or others could sleep undetected.
In May of 1921 the IRA attacked the Coast Guard Station in Teelin. The Station was well-fortified and the action was aborted. On July 11, 1921 a truce was called, ending military action in Ireland. With the ensuing treaty an Irish Free State Army was formed.
Sometimes the terms RIC, UVF, Auxies, Black and Tans, British soldiers and “forces of the crown” can get blurry. Suffice it to say that they all described groups who were hellbent on stopping Irish independence. After truce and treaty, the Irish Civil War ensued. The IRA was mainly anti-treaty, exited the Dail and started a military campaign against the Free State Army. Words cannot describe how terrible the situation was, with Irish fighting Irish. So, the irony is that after years of evading the crown forces, Patrick Doherty was now a wanted man by the Free State Army.
On the morning of April 27, 1923, Patrick was asleep at his home in Boggagh. He awoke at 5 am and the house was surrounded with soldiers. There was a long bench in the kitchen where they stored sacks of potatoes. Patrick hid under the bench and potatoes. His mother Cassie spread out her long black skirt, further concealing him. The soldiers made some threats and tried to get Pat’s brother John to reveal his location. They thrust under the bench with a bayonet. Pat felt the blade brush across his leg but escaped unscathed. After this incident, and looking at imminent death or jailing, Pat decided to join his sister Ann in Indianapolis. He stayed here until the heat died down and eventually returned home to take over the family farm. Another “terrible beauty” tale of an Irish family!