Royal Irish Constabulary
A History and Personal Memoir

Organization and recruiting
strength and distribution of the force
officers
men
discipline
inspectors
promotion
favourable records
correspondence
bigotry
the administration of the law
The Land War
how service affected the men
disciplinary restraint
a few reflections
a retrospect of 70 years
the Parnell Commission
emigration
gains versus odds
a few words more
addendum. Appendices
- Police record
obituaries.

'Fennell's book provides a great deal of useful factual information, and anyone looking for data on the composition, organisation and duties of the Irish police during the late nineteenth century will find it an invaluable source.'

Irish Studies Review
2004

'Thomas Fennell's book will appeal on its own merits to a wide readership. It will enlighten students that study the origin of modern policing and it will be a treasured item on the bookshelf of any family associated with The Royal Irish Constabulary.'

IPA (International Police Association) Journal
Dec 2003

'University College Dublin Press has now published over thirty ‘Classics of Irish History'. These contemporary accounts by well known personalities of historical events and attitudes have an immediacy that conventional histories do not have. Introductions by modern historians provide additional historical background and, with hindsight, objectivity.'

Books Ireland
Nov 2007

'Scholars of nineteenth-century Irish and Irish-American politics should reacquaint themselves with these classics, part of a long running and immensely useful series from University College Dublin Press.'

Irish Literary Supplement
Fall 2008