The Royal Irish Constabulary

I think we have mentioned the Irish Home Rule movement that started in the last half of the nineteenth century - the Irish campaign to rule themselves in their own country in their own parliament. The English as well as the Protestants of Ulster were opposed to this. The struggle was on. 

Sidebar: I am especially interested in Charles Stewart Parnell - an Anglo-Irish Protestant in the forefront of the Irish fight - because his mother was American - her father at one time commanded the U.S.S. Constitution now based here in Boston. His mother and sister Fanny moved to New Jersey. Fanny raised money for the Land League - an organization working for poor tenant farmers - for fair rents and to stop evictions and then to purchase their holdings. My father, Beth, and I went by Avondale House, the former family home in Wicklow, in 1977. Fanny is buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts - I attended a rededication of her grave site there.

But back to our story. So we have an idea of the background when young Jim Moriarty was growing up. We saw Jim Moriarty as a 14 year old scholar in the 1901 Irish Census - he was living with Uncle James Moriarty, the Schoolmaster, and his wife - there were 7 cousins there as well. 

1901 is also the year that Queen Victoria died, and memorial services took place all over Ireland. There was a service at the Tralee Parish Church in North Kerry at the same time as the funeral procession was going through the streets of London. There was a call for a day of mourning with the suspension of business in Tralee. The Kerryman Centennial edition quotes the Kerry Sentinal: "From what we can learn, however, the people of Tralee are not going to disappoint their customers on a market day and the day will only have to be observed as a Bank holiday. The newspaper continued 'Why should Irish men hypocritically feign grief at the death of an aged woman, of alien race, who was throughout her long occupancy of the throne bitterly opposed to every measure which had for its object the betterment, socially and economically of this country?' "  I wonder what went on in the rest of Kerry?

This same year there was a monster meeting held in Tralee by the local United Irish League calling for the right of the Irish people to govern themselves in an Irish Parliament. Fourteen members of the Glencar branch of the United Irish League (Glencar is between Sneem and Waterville) were charged with conspiracy, intimidation, and holding unlawful and seditious courts. Meanwhile, Thomas O'Donnell, Irish Member of Parliament, addressed the British Parliament in the Irish language. The Kerry Sentinel reported "It must be a grievous disappointment and surprise to our 'divinely appointed' rulers to find that the language which they have for so many centuries been endeavoring to stamp out is still alive to prove the indestructible vitality of Irish National sentiment."

On a lighter note, there was also a motor car rally from Killarney to Waterville in 1901 - this was the first time many people had seen a motor car! I wonder if they traveled through Sneem?

The next year saw Maud Gonne speak at the Tralee Concert Hall. "The lecturer spoke with pride and praise to the work of the Gaelic League, and the Irish literary revival. She referred to the possibilities of developing trade with France and other countries, the necessity of substituting Irish pastimes, music and plays for English importations, and above all the absolute essential duty of checking emigration by every available means." This same year there were ads in the paper for "Free Farms Offered in Canada" - "free grants of 160 acres of land in Manitoba and the North West - Crown grants in the other provinces." The ad looked for "Capitalists, persons with moderate incomes, Farmers, Farm Laborers, young men desiring to learn Farming, and Domestic Servants." Information was available from the Immigration Commissioner for Ireland, from the Allan, Dominion, and Elder Dempster Steamship Company, or the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. 

1903 saw the passage of the Wyndam Act - another land purchase act to help more tenants buy their holdings. Negotiations were going on between tenants and landlords - usually through the landlords' agents - sometimes the parish priests were involved on the side of the tenants. The English government provided loans to tenants at a reduced rate and offered bonuses to encourage landlords to sell their estates. The British thought if they gave in a little to the Irish, then the Irish would give up the quest for Home Rule. This same year the Kerryman Centennial edition has an article asking for justice for farm laborers now that many farmers were able to buy their holdings. 

The first All Ireland Senior Football title came to Kerry in 1905. Kerry beat Kildare; but then there was a forced rematch which ended in a draw. The final match up between Kerry and Kildare happened in the Cork Athletic Grounds. "The gate was by far the biggest the GAA had recorded up till then." Kerry won that match and went on to beat London Hibernians to take home the first of many All Ireland titles. 

On another note, a Kerry Board of Guardians received a communication "from Messrs F. and C. Downing stating they were instructed by Mr. Latchford to complain of a very serious nuisance caused to him by reason of the Council having turned the sewage of the workhouse and fever hospital on to the public road whence it passes by the gateway leading to his house." Mr. Latchford gave the Board of Guardians one week to clean up the sewerage from in front of his house or face legal action. Was he complaining that raw sewerage was flowing into the street! Yuck!

Starting out on this quest, I didn't know anything about Jim Moriarty except that he was brought up by his uncle and that he joined the Royal Irish Constabulary.

I received an email from Court Story when we were both researching the Burns family in Sneem.

"James Moriarty, Born in County Kerry in Feb, 1886, Member of RIC from About 1907 to 1921
Monday, November 15, 2010 2:54 PM

  From: 

"Court Storey" <Court.Storey@northmarq.com>

To: 

"Mary Ellen Murphy" <irishmomma4@yahoo.com>

Cc: 

"Pam Neary" <pamaloo@pressenter.com>
Hi Mary Ellen,

I have ordered the service records of brothers Timothy and Michael Byrnes/Burns from Bogare from Jim Herlihy who has access to the archives containing these records (see my 11/6/10 email below). I sent Jim an email this morning about your great uncle James Moriarty and you can see his response below. This must be your great uncle. As you can see, he is asking for a photo of James Moriarty which perhaps you could scan and email to him. In any case, Jim Herlihy will send you his service record if you mail him a check for $30 and your mailing address. Jim Herlihy's mailing address is in his 11/12/10 email below (which I highlighted in red). He said it will take about 10 days, probably a little longer given the time the mail will take. If you wish to proceed with this, you should communicate with Jim Herlihy directly.

Good luck, Court

From: Jim Herlihy [j_herlihy@esatclear.ie]
Sent: Monday, November 15, 2010 1:13 PM
To: Court Storey
Subject: RE: James Moriarty, Born in County Kerry in Feb, 1886, Member of RIC from About 1907 to 1921

Hi Court,

I searched the RIC Index and I found JAMES MORIARTY, born in Co. Kerry in 1886 and joined the RIC in 1907.
He made the papers in 1920 and I added it to the RIC Database when he resigned as follows:-

(A native of Annascaul, Co. Kerry. Reported in the Cork Examiner, 10/9/1920 as having resigned from the RIC at Lisdoonvarna Station with three other RIC constables)

For my own information, does your friend have a photograph of him and does he know when and where he died and where he is buried?

US $30.00cts will cover providing the RIC Service Record.

Best regards,

JIM HERLIHY



From: Court Storey [mailto:Court.Storey@northmarq.com]
Sent: 15 November 2010 17:43
To: Jim Herlihy
Subject: James Moriarty, Born in County Kerry in Feb, 1886, Member of RIC from About 1907 to 1921

Hi Jim,

I have a friend in the US who may want the service record of James Moriarty who was born in County Kerry in Feb., 1886 and was a member of the RIC from about 1907 to 1921. Below is what I know from an email from my friend:

"James Moriarty, from Loughane/Lower Glenlough, in County Kerry. He grew up in Inch after his father drowned - we heard he was stationed in Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare. He left the force at some point and came out to Boston in 1921."

Can you find his service record and what would be the charge in US dollars for you to mail a copy to my friend living near Boston, MA, USA?

Regards, Court"

I tried to contact this Jim Herlihy a couple of times but never received a reply. He wrote a book about 1999 - "The Royal Irish Constabulary: a complete alphabetical list of officers and men: 1816 - 1922." A used paperback copy costs $92.20 and a used hardcover costs $354.40 on www.amazon.com!!! I recently found out that O'Neill Library at Boston College may have a copy of this book. I sent an email to them to verify that they have it. Some time when I am up that way, I'll try to take a look at it. It may provide Jim Moriarty's service record - or at least his service number. I can contact the British National Archives in Kew if I have his service number and request his service records.

The Irish police force at the time of the Act of Union of Ireland with Great Britain in 1800 was still composed only of small groups of sub-constables. These part-time policemen, appointed by the local authorities (the grand juries) were few in number and poorly paid out of county funds. The passage of the Irish Constabulary Act 1836 finally brought a single, unified force into being. Power to appoint and discharge members of the force, to make rules and to fix salaries was vested in the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (appointed by the English king/parliament.)

The Irish Constabulary was responsible for the peace of the whole country except Dublin which had its own police – the Dublin Metropolitan Police. In September 1867 in recognition of its loyal and faithful services, the Constabulary was renamed the Royal Irish Constabulary. The duties of the Constabulary were gradually extended. At first it was solely concerned with keeping the peace. This included the suppression of armed rebellion, sectarian riots, or agrarian disturbances. Later it inherited the functions of the Revenue Police, made enquiries on behalf of departments of state, collected agricultural statistics, enforced the fishery laws and performed a variety of duties under laws relating to food and drugs, weights and measures, explosives and petroleum. Members of the force also acted as enumerators during the Irish censuses.

So it seems according to the above email that Jim Moriarty enlisted in 1907. I read somewhere that a young man had to be at least 19 years old and had to be recommended by a local magistrate, constable, or a prominent member of the community. I wonder if the Schoolmaster recommended Jim Moriarty?

Jim Moriarty in his RIC uniform.

And I haven't been able to find Jim Moriarty in the 1911 Irish census - he would have been stationed outside of Kerry but we don't know when he was dispatched to Lisdoonvarna.

The following newspaper article by Con Casey from the Friday, 26 August 1983 Kerryman describes life for the RIC in Tralee. Con did not belong to the RIC - he was on the opposite side. But I’ve included it to give some idea of what life might have been like for young Jim Moriarty.

Con states "I grew up in Bridge Street a little more than a stone throw of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) barracks in High Street, Tralee … To us the movements of police coming on duty and going off duty at regular intervals was common place. You could set your watch by them, if you were old enough to have one, a possession that most boys did not acquire until they went to work …

"If you were around the lower end of the town and was so minded you could not fail to see the RIC sergeant and three or four constables marching up Bridge Street to take up duty. The sergeant, who may be accompanied by one of the constables, usually the most junior, patrolled the main thoroughfare. The others went off in different directions to show their presence in the side streets and suburbs. Tralee was then a more compact town than it is now. From time to time the sergeant took up position at the Munster and Leinster corner of Denny Street and there he received reports from the constables before they moved off again to patrol in other areas.

"It was foot patrolling so methodically ordered that it left no doubt on the public that the police men were vigilantly on the job. Very little escaped their notice as they moved at the regulation three miles an hour through their beat. This procedure was repeated two or three times during the day until the watchmen took over for the night hours.

"Other constables were out on bicycles keeping the rural portions of the Tralee police district under supervision. They were prepared to dismount and chat up civilians  and when the time came for taking annual returns of livestock and crops, they had access to every farm house in their charge and became acquainted with the occupants.

"All in all it was a quiet but most effective way for keeping tabs on everybody who lived and on everything that went on in Tralee and the rural surroundings.

"Nor could you enter or leave Tralee without being observed. There were attached to the force police men who were never seen in uniform. They were detectives. One of their duties was to be present at the railway station to note anybody of consequence or suspicion who was arriving or travelling.

"Law enforcement was the RIC man's duty and he performed it literally. Cycling without a light or a bell, cycling on a footpath, playing a ball game on the street, throwing stones at the cups on telephone or telegraph poles, not having your name and address on your car or a light on it, staggering drunk, cruelty to an animal, usually a donkey, raiding an orchard, owning or keeping an unlicensed dog and other petty offenses attracted their attention.

"Any one of these offenses could lead to your name being entered in a policeman's note book and on a summons to appear before the magistrates' court …

"The enforcing of the licensing laws was not a popular function of the RIC .. Anybody found on licensed premises outside of stipulated hours was fined and so was the publican for whom it was a serious matter as three endorsements on his license could put him in danger of losing it and his way of living …

"The RIC had also among its duties the supervision of weights and measures.

"The RIC also enforced the Food and Drugs Act. Samples of milk were taken on the way to the creamery to ensure that water was not added to it. Similarly samples of spirits were taken and analysed to ascertain if they were of legal strength. Butter offered for sale with excess of moisture could, as in the case of milk and spirits, lead to prosecution and unwelcome publicity.

"Youthful offenders got short shrift from the RIC. One or two appearances in court could lead to the administering of three strokes of a birch rod and if he persisted in his waywardness he could find himself in a Reformatory where discipline was strictly enforced.

"I would venture to say that Ireland was never so governable from the British point of view as it was in the first decade of this present century (20th.) The Royal Irish Constabulary, manned for the most part by native born stalwarts mainly from farming stock seemed to have law and order in their grip. There was, of course, an occasional serious crime. Their detection rate was high, their intelligence system in good shape, they were regarded as 'the eyes and ears' of Dublin Castle as an English Chief Secretary for Ireland declared. They obeyed their officers of different stock to themselves with unfailing obedience and discipline. Never was England so well served anywhere as it was by the RIC in Ireland.

"Ireland was quiescent in the first decade of the twentieth century; poverty, unemployment, and emigration had sapped her virility. The Wyndham Act of 1903 ended the land agitation. Local government put power, formerly held by the Grand Jury, into the hands of elected representatives. The only stirrings of nationalism were in the Gaelic League and the Gaelic Athletic Association. The Irish Party, recently united under John Redmond, dominated the political life of Ireland. It hoped that the Liberals, who came to power in England in 1906, would give Ireland Home Rule in return for its support in the British House of Commons. The eyes of the Irish people, for the most part, were turned towards Westminster and the Irish daily newspaper carried long reports detailing at length what transpired in the parliament there.

"..the officers of the RIC came to their rank through the Cadet system. Their background was different to that of the young men who served in the ranks … It was seldom that a man from the ranks became an officer in the RIC. The officers for the most part were Protestants and the men in the ranks were Catholics …

"The men in the ranks of the RIC had, for the most part, rural backgrounds and were splendid physical specimens selected after strict medical examination and conforming to regulation height and chest measurements. They were of good farming stock and needed local recommendations before being accepted for six months intensive training at the depot in Dublin. How in the short time they were turned from easy going country lads into efficient and stern instruments of British law enforcement in their native country was remarkable. A good brain washing job must have been done.

"The conditions of the time attracted into the RIC the second and other sons of farmers who might have emigrated or became apprentices to the drapery, grocery or hardware trade in their nearest town. To enter these callings a premium had to be paid to the employer before being accepted as an apprentice for a term of years.

"The value of money in the first decade of the twentieth century is well illustrated when it is realized that an experienced police constable was regarded as well paid at a pound a week. There might have been a few perks such as boot or bicycle allowance …

"The unmarried constables lived in the barracks. They were not permitted to marry until they had served a fixed number of years and if they married local girls a transfer to another county followed. Married or not, RIC men were not stationed in their native county …

"Behind the bottle green or blue-black uniform and the baton, and the roughness and rigour which some displayed in the enforcement of the law in all its details, and the reputation that they fostered among the public and neighbors of being loyal to England rather than to Ireland, there must have been sown in the homes of many RIC men the seeds of nationalism …

"I have read that in the first Dail Eirean (Irish Parliament) which made the declaration of allegiance to the Irish Republic and gave official recognition to the IRA as the Army of the Republic, fourteen of the members were the sons of RIC men. 
"What happened to the RIC in the seven years between then and 1921, is another and much more vivid story. And the numbers in Tralee now alive who could recall it from personal experience could be counted on fingers. The RIC attempted to hold the line for the British against the IRA (as the Volunteers became in January 1919) and the will of the people and failed.Their reinforcement by Black and Tans and Auxiliaries changed the RIC from a native Irish force to one infiltrated and dominated by Englishmen who were a law unto themselves and left stinking memories behind them."

An interesting description of the RIC. But it does give us some idea of what life was like initially for Jim Moriarty. As time went on and the War of Independence was fought, life must have been dicey for Ma's brother. The members of the Royal Irish Constabulary had to assist with evictions, were expected to give information about other Irish citizens, and later were expected to hunt down members of the Irish Republican Army. Not only that, but the RIC barracks were targeted and attacked by the Irish Republican Army who seized any available weapons. The constables themselves were also  targeted by the IRA. So it was a fairly dangerous profession. It may not have been only the danger that caused Jim Moriarty to leave the RIC, but the fact that he was working against fellow Irishmen must have caused him some inner turmoil. And we heard from Father Jim Moriarty that the Schoolmaster's children were involved in the fight for Irish freedom - even his daughters. Our Jim Moriarty was probably exposed to the same Nationalist sentiments as his cousins, don't you think? So how could he - who was described as so gentle and kind by his cousins Nuala and Tess Moriarty - work against his own people?

And what about the write up in the Cork Examiner when he resigned in 1920? He was stationed in Lisdonvarna, County Clare. I have read that there were deaths - assassinations as well - of RIC constables in County Clare during the Irish War of Independence but have seen nothing about Lisdoonvarna. If we can obtain Jim Moriarty's service records, we may be able to learn more about what happened where he was stationed.

I sent an email to the National Library of Ireland on Saturday, 18 January 2014 asking if they could send me a copy of the article in the Cork Examiner. I just received an email today - 20 January 2014 - from the National Library of Ireland.

"Good Morning,

I was wondering if I could obtain a copy of a 1920 newspaper article about my great uncle James Moriarty. If so, would you kindly let me know how much it would cost and how you would like payment. An email attachment would probably suffice. Whatever is easier.

James Moriarty resigned from the RIC in 1920 and apparently this was written up in the Cork Examiner of 10/9/1920.

(A native of Annascaul, Co. Kerry. Reported in the Cork Examiner, 10/9/1920 as having resigned from the RIC at Lisdoonvarna Station with three other RIC constables)

Thank you for your time,

Mary Ellen Murphy"

"Dear Mary Ellen

We charge 1.00Euro per page + there is a postage charge if you wish to go ahead with this order I would need the full address that you would like it posted to also I would need a credit card details you can do so by emailing me here or my number is 353 1 6030214.

Regards,

Berni Metcalfe (Ms)"

So we may have some news in a few days about why Jim Moriarty resigned from the RIC.

The Royal Irish Constabulary was disbanded on 30 August 1922. Pensions continued to be paid by the paymaster general in London, and the service records of members of the force passed to the Home Office in London. But Jim Moriarty had already left Ireland by this time.