Irish Fine Gael government forced to retreat as opposition mounts to RIC/Black & Tan commemoration

It was a shock to many people in Ireland when the Fine Gael government  in Ireland announced there was to be an official state ceremony in Dublin Castle on January the 17th to honour those Irish and British men who lost their lives while serving with the Royal Irish Constabulary and Dublin Metropolitan Police during the War of Independence. By seeking to have a state commemoration of the forces recruited by Britain to fight against Irish freedom, the present Fine Gael government have put themselves in a bizarre position. That of commemorating those who fought against the very existence of the nation-state of Ireland. It is hard to think of another state that would facilitate honouring those who fought to suppress national freedom. 

The planned ceremony would commemorate all parts of the RIC. That would include those notorious mercenary killers who served in the Royal Irish Constabulary Special Reserve, the infamous “Black and Tans”, and the related Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary.  The Black and Tans arrived in Ireland for the first time on March 25, 1920, in a desperate attempt by Britain to defeat the fight for Irish freedom. This was after the 1918 democratic election which saw Sinn Fein win 73 percent of the vote in the 32-county election in Ireland. The Black and Tans and Auxiliaries soon gained an international reputation for brutality and atrocities, surpassed only by the despised Ulster Special Constabulary.

No wonder then that the Fine Gael government has met with huge opposition to the commemoration from across Ireland. Such as that of the Fianna Fáil Mayor of Clare who made it clear he would  boycott the forthcoming commemoration service for the Royal Irish Constabulary. He described the event as "historical revisionism gone too far". Cathal Crowe stated it is "wrong to celebrate and eulogise" the RIC, "an organisation that was the strong-arm of the British state in Ireland". It is a widely held sentiment and the groundswell of opposition to the commemoration planned for 17th January has forced the present Irish government on the back foot. Now they have said they have deferred their planned RIC/Black & Tan commemoration. A partial victory for people power against revisionism, but not enough. The state commemoration must now be cancelled not just deferred.

Image: Black and Tans patrol on the streets of Ireland