The Irish Revenue Police

Book excerpt: La 4e de couv. indique : "In the period 1832 to 1857, some 4,000 men served in the Irish Revenue Police, working to supress illicit distillation. In this book, Jim Herlihy shows how to find information on them, providing an excellent resource for those interested in the history of the force, and of the period. A chapter on the history and origin of the Irish Revenue Police and its predecessor forces engaged in 'still-hunting' is followed by one describing what a career in the Revenue Police might have been like, another on tracing your ancestor in the IRP, and a short memoir by IRP Lieutenant Matthew Power (1820-84). All this is followed by an extensive series of appendices filled with detailed information on the Irish Revenue Police and those who served in it, from the force's rank structure, to the distribution across Ireland of its divisions, stations and parties. The centrepiece of this is a complete list of every man who served in the force from 1830 to 1857. There is also information on what happened to Irish Revenue Police members after the force was disbanded in 1857, including the gratuities many were given, and lists of those who went on to join the Royal Irish Constabulary, the Dublin Metropolitan Police and the Londonderry Borough Police."