46 Men Dead: The Royal Irish Constabulary in County Tipperary 1919-22

IN JANUARY 1919, AT SOLOHEADBEG IN TIPPERARY, two members of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) were killed by the IRA. In the four bloody years that followed, nearly 500 RIC men were killed and hundreds more wounded. In Tipperary alone, 46 policemen were killed, making it one of most violent counties in Ireland. The popular image of the RIC is that they were the 'eyes and ears of Dublin Castle', an oppressive colonial force policing its fellow countrymen. But the truth is closer to home: m...