Policing Ireland I: Law enforcement, 1816-1925
Discover the authorities that policed Ireland through revolution and independence between 1816 and 1925. This series brings together Royal Irish Constabulary service records (The National Archives, series HO 184), pensions (The National Archives, series PMG 48), and histories and directories; Irish Revenue Police records (The National Archives, series CUST 111), and transcript-only material related to the Dublin Metropolitan Police. These are essential sources for understanding law enforcement during Ireland's most turbulent century.
Key facts
1816-1925
Date range
More than
95,000
Images
More than
742,000
Transcribed entries
Source(s)
and more
Royal Irish Constabulary Pensions, 1826-1925 (The National Archives, PMG 48/63)
About this series
This series provides unprecedented access to records documenting law enforcement in Ireland from 1816 to 1925, a transformative period in Irish history. Spanning over a century of service records, pension registers, and more, these materials illuminate the lives of those who served in Ireland's police forces during a time of profound social and political change.
This is the first instalment of a larger series that will bring together a comprehensive landscape of policing and justice in Ireland. The records in this series focus on the armed forces, covering three major organisations: the Royal Irish Constabulary, the Irish Revenue Police, and the Dublin Metropolitan Police.
The records in this series
This series brings together six datasets:
- Royal Irish Constabulary Service Records 1816-1922: It includes 181 pieces from series HO 184 at The National Archives. These documents contain auxiliary division general registers, records of service and salaries of clerical staff, constabulary force funds, constabulary lists, disbandment registers, general registers, nominal returns, officers' registers, pensions and gratuities, and an index of new recruits.
- Royal Irish Constabulary Pensions 1826-1925: It comprises records from The National Archives' series PMG 48. The collection consists of records for pensions and allowances granted to officers, men, and staff of the RIC, as well as their widows and children. Records include registers of pensions, registers of deceased pensioners, and pensions paid when the RIC was disbanded in August 1922.
- Ireland, Royal Irish Constabulary History & Directories: It includes a variety of records from series HO 184 at The National Archives, together with further publications printed between 1840 and 1921, ranging from directories, salary lists, to constabulary codes. These provide insight into the administration and daily operations of the police force as well as the history of the organisation.
- Irish Revenue Police 1830-1857: The records in this collection are from series CUST 111 at The National Archives, and the include lists of new appointments, minutes of appointments, dismissals of privates (for instance, for riotous behaviour, being unfit for service or being drunk on duty), and appointments to permanent positions at the end of a probation period.
- Ireland, Dublin Metropolitan Police Prisoners Books 1905-1908 and 1911-1918: This is a transcript only set, transcribed from four leather-bound double-ledger volumes kept at the Garda Museum and Archives. These provide an index of prisoners arrested by the Dublin Metropolitan Police between 1905-1908 and 1911-1918, with references to their charge, their age, and personal details. A new series of offences were introduced following the passage of the Defence of the Realm Act on 8 August 1914, which were often used against political activists.
- Ireland, Dublin Metropolitan Police General Register 1837-1925: This is a transcript only set, which includes information from the Dublin Metropolitan Police's general register, documenting recruitment and transfers within the police force from 1837 to 1925. While the register was maintained until 1975, only entries up to 1925 have been digitised and made available due to data protection requirements.
This series will prove invaluable to researchers, academics, and students across multiple disciplines. Historians focusing on Irish history, British imperial history, and policing will find essential primary sources for understanding state formation, social control, and the mechanisms of British rule in Ireland. The series also serves researchers in social history, labour history, and migration studies, offering insights into working-class occupations, patterns of internal migration, and the social composition of Ireland's security forces. Furthermore, for those studying the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Revolution, these records provide crucial documentation of this turbulent period.
This series provides unprecedented access to records documenting law enforcement in Ireland from 1816 to 1925, a transformative period in Irish history. Spanning over a century of service records, pension registers, and more, these materials illuminate the lives of those who served in Ireland's police forces during a time of profound social and political change.
This is the first instalment of a larger series that will bring together a comprehensive landscape of policing and justice in Ireland. The records in this series focus on the armed forces, covering three major organisations: the Royal Irish Constabulary, the Irish Revenue Police, and the Dublin Metropolitan Police.
The records in this series
This series brings together six datasets:
- Royal Irish Constabulary Service Records 1816-1922: It includes 181 pieces from series HO 184 at The National Archives. These documents contain auxiliary division general registers, records of service and salaries of clerical staff, constabulary force funds, constabulary lists, disbandment registers, general registers, nominal returns, officers' registers, pensions and gratuities, and an index of new recruits.
- Royal Irish Constabulary Pensions 1826-1925: It comprises records from The National Archives' series PMG 48. The collection consists of records for pensions and allowances granted to officers, men, and staff of the RIC, as well as their widows and children. Records include registers of pensions, registers of deceased pensioners, and pensions paid when the RIC was disbanded in August 1922.
- Ireland, Royal Irish Constabulary History & Directories: It includes a variety of records from series HO 184 at The National Archives, together with further publications printed between 1840 and 1921, ranging from directories, salary lists, to constabulary codes. These provide insight into the administration and daily operations of the police force as well as the history of the organisation.
- Irish Revenue Police 1830-1857: The records in this collection are from series CUST 111 at The National Archives, and the include lists of new appointments, minutes of appointments, dismissals of privates (for instance, for riotous behaviour, being unfit for service or being drunk on duty), and appointments to permanent positions at the end of a probation period.
- Ireland, Dublin Metropolitan Police Prisoners Books 1905-1908 and 1911-1918: This is a transcript only set, transcribed from four leather-bound double-ledger volumes kept at the Garda Museum and Archives. These provide an index of prisoners arrested by the Dublin Metropolitan Police between 1905-1908 and 1911-1918, with references to their charge, their age, and personal details. A new series of offences were introduced following the passage of the Defence of the Realm Act on 8 August 1914, which were often used against political activists.
- Ireland, Dublin Metropolitan Police General Register 1837-1925: This is a transcript only set, which includes information from the Dublin Metropolitan Police's general register, documenting recruitment and transfers within the police force from 1837 to 1925. While the register was maintained until 1975, only entries up to 1925 have been digitised and made available due to data protection requirements.
This series will prove invaluable to researchers, academics, and students across multiple disciplines. Historians focusing on Irish history, British imperial history, and policing will find essential primary sources for understanding state formation, social control, and the mechanisms of British rule in Ireland. The series also serves researchers in social history, labour history, and migration studies, offering insights into working-class occupations, patterns of internal migration, and the social composition of Ireland's security forces. Furthermore, for those studying the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Revolution, these records provide crucial documentation of this turbulent period.
Auxiliary division journal from the Royal Irish Constabulary Service Records, 1920-1922 (The National Archives, HO 184/53)
Royal Irish Constabulary’s widows' and orphans' gratuities (The National Archives, HO 184/219)
Record from the Irish Revenue Police’s 1854-1857 minutes of appointments (The National Archives, CUST111/12)
Record sets
Royal Irish Constabulary Service Records 1816-1922
Royal Irish Constabulary Pensions 1826-1925
Royal Irish Constabulary History & Directories
Irish Revenue Police 1830-1857
Dublin Metropolitan Police Prisoners Books 1905-1908 and 1911-1918 (transcript-only)
Dublin Metropolitan Police General Register 1837-1925 (transcript-only)
Armed forces in this series
Royal Irish Constabulary
Constabulary Code, 4th edition (The National Archives, series HO 184)
Royal Irish Constabulary
The Irish Constabulary was created in 1836 and granted its royal title in 1867 by Queen Victoria, becoming the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). It was established as a peacekeeping force dedicated to the detection and prevention of crime throughout Ireland. The force also eventually assumed responsibility from the Revenue Police for enforcing laws governing whiskey production. Records in this collection include dates from before the creation of the constabulary, relating to men who served with the Peace Preservation Force, an early peacekeeping force in Ireland.
During the Irish War of Independence, RIC barracks became frequent targets of attacks by the Irish Republican Army. Due to declining membership caused by death, injury, low recruitment, and resignation, the British government dispatched auxiliary forces of ex-servicemen to supplement their numbers. This auxiliary force became known as the Black and Tans due to their uniform and gained notoriety for their brutality.
The Anglo-Irish Treaty ended the war on 6 December 1921, and the Irish Free State was established in January 1922. The Royal Irish Constabulary was disbanded in August 1922, with a new police force, An Garda Síochána, taking its place. In Northern Ireland, the police force became the Royal Ulster Constabulary.
The Irish Constabulary was created in 1836 and granted its royal title in 1867 by Queen Victoria, becoming the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). It was established as a peacekeeping force dedicated to the detection and prevention of crime throughout Ireland. The force also eventually assumed responsibility from the Revenue Police for enforcing laws governing whiskey production. Records in this collection include dates from before the creation of the constabulary, relating to men who served with the Peace Preservation Force, an early peacekeeping force in Ireland.
During the Irish War of Independence, RIC barracks became frequent targets of attacks by the Irish Republican Army. Due to declining membership caused by death, injury, low recruitment, and resignation, the British government dispatched auxiliary forces of ex-servicemen to supplement their numbers. This auxiliary force became known as the Black and Tans due to their uniform and gained notoriety for their brutality.
The Anglo-Irish Treaty ended the war on 6 December 1921, and the Irish Free State was established in January 1922. The Royal Irish Constabulary was disbanded in August 1922, with a new police force, An Garda Síochána, taking its place. In Northern Ireland, the police force became the Royal Ulster Constabulary.
Irish Revenue Police
1833 list of Nominations and appointments from the Irish Revenue Police (The National Archives, CUST 111/1)
Irish Revenue Police
The Irish Revenue Police were formed to work with the Customs and Excise Service to prevent illegal distillation of liquors and spirits, particularly poteen (poitín). Due to the inherent dangers of their work, including confrontations with gangs of resisting distillers, it was an armed force. The first stations were established in Sligo and Ballina in 1818, and the number of stations eventually grew to 500. In 1845, the force was divided into two districts: Northern and Southern. Most members were stationed on the west coast of Ireland.
In 1857, an enquiry commission determined that the Irish Revenue Police had been so effective in reducing illegal distilling that the force was no longer needed, and the Irish Constabulary would assume its responsibilities. Many Irish Revenue Police members subsequently enlisted in the Irish Constabulary.
The Irish Revenue Police were formed to work with the Customs and Excise Service to prevent illegal distillation of liquors and spirits, particularly poteen (poitín). Due to the inherent dangers of their work, including confrontations with gangs of resisting distillers, it was an armed force. The first stations were established in Sligo and Ballina in 1818, and the number of stations eventually grew to 500. In 1845, the force was divided into two districts: Northern and Southern. Most members were stationed on the west coast of Ireland.
In 1857, an enquiry commission determined that the Irish Revenue Police had been so effective in reducing illegal distilling that the force was no longer needed, and the Irish Constabulary would assume its responsibilities. Many Irish Revenue Police members subsequently enlisted in the Irish Constabulary.
Dublin Metropolitan Police
Transcript from the Dublin Metropolitan Police General Register, 1837-1925
Dublin Metropolitan Police
In 1836, the Dublin Metropolitan Police was established alongside the Irish Constabulary (later the Royal Irish Constabulary). These two organizations replaced the County Constabulary. Following the truce of July 1921 after the War of Independence, the Royal Irish Constabulary disbanded and the Civic Guard (later named An Garda Síochána na hÉireann) was formed. In 1925, the Dublin Metropolitan Police merged with An Garda Síochána.
In 1836, the Dublin Metropolitan Police was established alongside the Irish Constabulary (later the Royal Irish Constabulary). These two organizations replaced the County Constabulary. Following the truce of July 1921 after the War of Independence, the Royal Irish Constabulary disbanded and the Civic Guard (later named An Garda Síochána na hÉireann) was formed. In 1925, the Dublin Metropolitan Police merged with An Garda Síochána.
From the Archive
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Editorial Board
The governing structures of nineteenth-century Ireland look superficially very like Britain, but Ireland was different, and this is most clearly manifested in the security apparatus. Over the course of this new series, we will explore this in detail, looking at policing, courts, prisons, martial governance and their social impact.
Dr Brian Donovan
Strategic Growth Lead and Historian