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People and Politics by Patrick Roberts

Black and Tans were not so bad says new book ---savagery in Irish War of Independence on all sides

Posted on Monday, August 29, 2011 at 07:12 PM

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The Black and Tans were not so bad after all it seems according to a new book.

That will come as disturbing news to millions of Irish Americans including, by his own account, Vice President Joe Biden, who were raised on stories of Black and Tans atrocities in Ireland during the War of Independence.

(The above picture is a still from the movie "The Wind that Shakes the Barley" on this very topic)

The Black and Tans were generally thought of as the scum of the British system, psychopaths released from jails and turned into an evil militia and sent to Ireland.

Not so says a new book by historian David Leeson entitled "The Black and Tans; British Police and Auxiliaries in the Irish War of Independence 1920-21." It is published by Oxford University Press.

The book was reviewed by Eunan O' Halpin in The Irish Times and he says it will open many eyes.

Among the major surprises I found reading his review was that many of the Black and Tans were actually Irish-born and that regular soldiers were far more likely to commit atrocities.

O'Halpin writes; "Leeson’s careful analysis of Black and Tan recruitment disposes of the widely aired charge that these temporary policemen were the sweepings of the British penal system. Rather, they were a miscellany of British and Irish ex-servicemen, almost none of whom had criminal records. "

"He also suggests that pre-First World War soldiers were more likely than younger Black and Tans to commit disciplinary and criminal offenses in Ireland, challenging the assumption that the chronic ill discipline of these temporary policemen was specifically a manifestation of the brutalizing effects of the First World War on impressionable youths."

He also notes that " While the Black and Tans were largely confined to service alongside regular RIC men, waiting for the IRA to attack them, the Auxiliaries were intended as an elite force tasked to take the battle to the IRA."

This they did with a vengeance and it is abundantly clear that they abused that power, even more than the Black and Tans actually did.

In another book about the era "1920-1922 The Outrages" by Pearse Lawlor, published by Mercier Press it is clear that the worse of all groups, including the Black and Tans were the Ulster Special Constabulary.

The book discusses the numerous atrocities they carried out, as indeed did the IRA at the time as Lawlor notes, citing especially the brutal murder of an 80-year-old helpless Protestant clergyman in Cavan.

He covers the pogroms against Catholics in at least three major towns led by off-duty Ulster Special Constabulary, later known as the 'B' specials and they leave even the Black and Tans in the halfpenny place when it comes to murder and mayhem.

Almost all revolutions are born in spilt blood and the Irish fight was no different.

What is interesting is how, as history unfolds,previously hard held facts and truths are questioned and re-examined.

It seems we are at that stage with the Irish War of Independence.

There are no choir boys in war we know.These books just make that fact even clearer.

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sirpeter | Aug 31, 2011, 08:32 AM EDT

@PolinDeB lol."de deivils law i tell you the deivils law" ;)

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sirpeter | Aug 31, 2011, 08:27 AM EDT

@michaelidaho.That's my whole point.Considering some protestants informed on the IRA and were not INNOCENT and most protestants were quiet loyal to the crown who lived on land that were taken by force.There was remarkable constraint on the side of the Catholics.I'm not saying there wasn't instances where Catholics did wrong to Protestants.But in comparison to the atrocities committed by the Tans it's hardly worth mentioning.In all fairness even a constantly battered wife gets the odd smack in every now and again to use an analogy.It's only worth a sneer when the husband says.Well she hit me too.The atrocities are to one sided.Also there are lots of reasons why the Protestant population fell.But it wasn't that they were made unwelcome or threatened.The Protestants are nice people Protestants and Catholics get on very well in the South.

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scottyh | Aug 31, 2011, 06:36 AM EDT

FINGLETON, FITZPATRICK AND THE REST OF THE BANKERS HAVE DONE MORE DAMAGE THAN ANYBODY ELSE TO IRELAND!

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slainte39 | Aug 31, 2011, 06:24 AM EDT

"Why such a reduction of Protestants between 1911 and 1926?" The answer is obvious...there were many more Unionists among the Prot. ranks than the R.C.s. Many of these went to others Brit. colonies such as Canada or Australia to live under the "Unionjack", preferring that to living in an independent nation with a completely seavered umbilical cord.

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maireadinmelb | Aug 31, 2011, 04:51 AM EDT

My grandfather lived through the war of independence and told us about the black and tans - was this author alive in that time, cause I will take my grandad's word over his!!

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JohnJoe4444 | Aug 31, 2011, 04:42 AM EDT

All wars are dirty. Atrocities are carried out by all sides. Local IRA units killed innocent people. Sometimes the killings were of landowners whose property was coveted by the killers. BUT!!! To say the Tans were "not so bad" is ridiculous. When I was a kid I heard first hand from people living at the time of incidents of savagery and brutality. These guys were out of control and lived by no rules. If the book is based on "Official Records" they are unlikely to bear much relation to the real event.

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dukmarshal@aol.com | Aug 31, 2011, 01:17 AM EDT

Why is it that a few individuals refer to IRA actions as being against protestants, when in fact the actions were against known sympathizers with the crown and would have or did give information to the brits? The same thing happened during the American Revolution, and they are never referred to as protestants. The English army preformed the same atrocities here in the colonies as they did in Ireland.

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DaithiSuibhne | Aug 30, 2011, 10:53 PM EDT

Another revisionist story of the benevolent British government,what a crock of manure. It's a well known fact that the Brits always try to get someone else to do their dirtywork so of course alot of the 'Black and Tans' were Irish born. A vast majority of the RIC were catholic at the time,but regardless of religion they took up allegiance to a foreign power and worked with 'The Tans', which were mostly former British soldiers,and together they did their best to carry out the British agenda. It's sad but true that atrocities were carried out on both sides, this is what happens when one nation occupies another. No matter what 'new' stories come out after the fact,the fact remains the same, the British were a occupying force, in fact they still occupy 6 of our 9 counties in Ulster. Allow me to reiterate one more time " Ireland unfree will never be at peace"

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seanomelbourne | Aug 30, 2011, 10:21 PM EDT

My mother was from Mountmellick she never had a problem with her protestant neighbours.

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PolinDeB | Aug 30, 2011, 09:15 PM EDT

In fairness, war is war.. but if you want atrocities in the War of Independence it's hard to pass a story my grandmother told to me .. where a priest went to comfort a dying soldier who had been shot by the IRA.. when new soldiers came they tied him to the back of a car and dragged him till he was dead... As for against protestants atrocities.. they probably happened..it was inevitable and inevitable that those who held power no longer wanted to live in this new extremely catholic ireland but Laois where I'm from still has a large Protestant population.. other than the fear of their children marrying their population down...didn't hear that many stories of terrible incidents or felt any rancour between prods and catholic.. half the time as child they had to explain gently that they were protestant and didn't do lent when I tried to deliver them a Trocaire box ;0 The best craic was in the Divorce referendum where we used to tease them that this law was for them.. old george evans used to go mad.. "de deivils law i tell you the deivils law" ;)

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cillowen | Aug 30, 2011, 09:14 PM EDT

The Queen's visit and Willy Kate (another) wedding of the century that was so well appreciated by 'er subjects is reason enough to go gaga for occupier's Black and Tan chaps. George, the Wash had to do the dirty to rid his land of tyrant, George III. The Apple and banana comparison of posters doesn't quite fit.

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michaelidaho | Aug 30, 2011, 08:21 PM EDT

Sirpeter wrote: "You have evidence of these INNOCENT Protestants do you" Yes, there is plenty of evidence. Why not start with "1920-1922 The Outrages" by Pearse Lawlor which was mentioned in the article. Personally, I think the guy who wrote the revisionist book on the Black and Tans is an idiot. The British government's actions during the War of Independence were just another example of their arrogant, repressive and cruel tactics in dealing with Ireland. However, to argue that no atrocities were committed by the IRA against INNOCENT Protestant civilians, although small relative to Black and Tan outrages, is to ignore history and live in an ignorant fantasy land. You might want to check the 1911 and 1926 census and look at the drastic reduction in the Protestant population in the 26 Counties and ponder why so many left. It might have something to do with many republicans not making them feel very welcome (burning down their houses, murdering a few of them, etc.)

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tombegs | Aug 30, 2011, 07:56 PM EDT

Hate to get on twice. But it was a British hisorian who developed the theory that there existed a kinder and gentler version of the Spanish Inquisiton. I would love to provide time transport to these fools and force them to do field reserarch to support their theses.

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tombegs | Aug 30, 2011, 07:53 PM EDT

One quick question: Which of the two nations has a history of government supporte brutality? Ireland or England? Call him from the dead and ask Churchill about Gallipoli. Case closed. Oh I almost forgot. Was Ollie Cromwell Irish?

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maloney | Aug 30, 2011, 07:44 PM EDT

Substitute the black and tans with the SS and continue.

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