Product Description

Sent to Ireland in 1920 by Lloyd George's Coalition Cabinet, the Black and Tans acquired a fearsome reputation in their task of suppressing the IRA and united Irish and British public opinion against the government. This volume tells their story.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #137515 in Books
• Published on: 2001-05-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 228 pages

Review
This is a reasonable and fairminded account of a melancholy episode in recent Irish history in which both Crown and rebels share in the follies and brutalities of a turbulent era. The General Election of 1918 brought an overwhelming victory in Ireland for the Sein Fein party which orginally had the aim of reducing the British administration by passive resistance. But in keeping with Lloyd George's policies of attrition a new force was incorporated, in 1920, into the Royal Irish Constabulary and came to be known, by the uniforms they wore, as the Black and Tans. They were not the sweepings of English goals as Irish propagandists claimed but their appearances hardly suggested that they had been selected, as Winston Churchill said, "from a great press of applicants on account of their intelligence, their characters and their records in the war". The author describes, with clarity, the military, political and economic events of the year 1920 which came to resemble "a counter-murder association" until the Truce declared in July of 1921 put an end to the "Tan" war. A dismal record from which few heroes emerge. (Kirkus Reviews)

Synopsis
Sent to Ireland in 1920 by Lloyd George's Coalition Cabinet, the Black and Tans acquired a fearsome reputation in their task of suppressing the IRA and united Irish and British public opinion against the government. This volume tells their story.

Customer Reviews

A Misleading Title
Although appearing to be new or recent, this book was first published in 1959 and provides no particular insight into the Black and Tans, being more a general history of the troubles in Ireland from 1919 to 1921. It is a sound, readable account of the insurgency and of the politics of the time, mainly from the point of view of the British government. The treatment of the Irish politicians and rebels is somewhat superficial. The most disappointing aspect for anyone wanting to learn more, specifically, about the Black and Tans is that whilst cataloguing their actions, albeit at a fairly high level, there is nothing about the men themselves. There is very little in the way of first person recollections, either from the members of the RIC, Auxiliaries or the Black & Tans themselves, from those Irishmen and women who encountered them and little even from the nascent IRA about their own experiences of insurgent warfare. There is nothing about recruitment, training, organisation, equipment, tactics, etc., and even their distinctive appearance and the reason for their nickname gets just a single sentence. It is a reasonable introduction to this period, as it can be read through quickly to gain an understanding of the birth of the Republic of Ireland. I could not recognise the bias against the Irish rebels reported by some American reviewers of the book which has been attributed to the author being an army officer. For me, the author seemed even handed in his treatment of the atrocities and outrages perpetrated on both sides, which could be a problem for those wishing to see Republican myths perpetuated. I could discern no "agenda". There is certainly no starry-eyed romanticism concerning the personalities of the early IRA. I finished the book feeling a little sad that the lessons of history are forgotten by the arrogance and lack of humility of modern governments and their insistence on "looking forwards" (usually blindly). We seem destined therefore to always repeat the mistakes of the past. The definitive study of the Black & Tans as a para-military organisation is still awaited and I can only recommend this book as an introduction to this period in Irish history.