Johann Georg Kohl's Account of the Irish Constabulary
“A military garrison, though under another name”
In September, 1842, a German travel writer called Johann Georg Kohl visited Ireland and wrote an account of the new Irish Constabulary and its premises in County Kerry. While travelling from Killarney to Bantry, he stopped and entered a police station which he described as a “new, neat, spacious building” (Kohl, 1844, p. 143). To Kohl, it resembled a small fortress and he opined that it was likely to keep the natives “in awe”. The martial character of the building and its occupants immediately struck him:
"All round was a wilderness, and reminded me of the military stations so often picturesquely situated in the wild regions of the Austrian frontier. The house contained eight men of the constabulary force, as it is called, and which is a military-armed police, now extended over the whole of Ireland, for the prevention of crime, the discovery and apprehension of criminals, the protection of property, and the preservation of the peace. It consists of 8,000 men, classified and disciplined in the same manner as soldiers…They are armed with carbines and swords, and also use their bayonets as daggers. They differ from the soldiers in their uniform alone, which is somewhat less ornamented and of a dark green colour. This police force is therefore, properly a military garrison, though under another name. (The English constables carry no arms, but only a short round baton.)" (Kohl, 1844, p. 143.)
Kohl claimed that the Irish Constabulary would be more useful than an army of 30,000 men if a rebellion broke out in Ireland due to their strength, their unblemished characters, and their intimate knowledge of the country and its inhabitants. He noted the geographical penetration of the organisation and claimed that in Tipperary there was “a police station every three or four miles” (Kohl, 1844, p. 144). He also offered some thoughts on the ethnic composition of the force, and of the tendency of Irish exiles to take employment as policemen overseas:
"I have somewhere read that these constables are mostly Englishmen ; but from the inquiries which I have made, I have no doubt but there are as many, if not still more, Irishmen among them. Even in the London police there are more Irish than English, for the latter are not over partial to this service" [My emphasis] (Kohl, 1844, p. 144).
In September, 1842, a German travel writer called Johann Georg Kohl visited Ireland and wrote an account of the new Irish Constabulary and its premises in County Kerry. While travelling from Killarney to Bantry, he stopped and entered a police station which he described as a “new, neat, spacious building” (Kohl, 1844, p. 143). To Kohl, it resembled a small fortress and he opined that it was likely to keep the natives “in awe”. The martial character of the building and its occupants immediately struck him:
"All round was a wilderness, and reminded me of the military stations so often picturesquely situated in the wild regions of the Austrian frontier. The house contained eight men of the constabulary force, as it is called, and which is a military-armed police, now extended over the whole of Ireland, for the prevention of crime, the discovery and apprehension of criminals, the protection of property, and the preservation of the peace. It consists of 8,000 men, classified and disciplined in the same manner as soldiers…They are armed with carbines and swords, and also use their bayonets as daggers. They differ from the soldiers in their uniform alone, which is somewhat less ornamented and of a dark green colour. This police force is therefore, properly a military garrison, though under another name. (The English constables carry no arms, but only a short round baton.)" (Kohl, 1844, p. 143.)
Kohl claimed that the Irish Constabulary would be more useful than an army of 30,000 men if a rebellion broke out in Ireland due to their strength, their unblemished characters, and their intimate knowledge of the country and its inhabitants. He noted the geographical penetration of the organisation and claimed that in Tipperary there was “a police station every three or four miles” (Kohl, 1844, p. 144). He also offered some thoughts on the ethnic composition of the force, and of the tendency of Irish exiles to take employment as policemen overseas:
"I have somewhere read that these constables are mostly Englishmen ; but from the inquiries which I have made, I have no doubt but there are as many, if not still more, Irishmen among them. Even in the London police there are more Irish than English, for the latter are not over partial to this service" [My emphasis] (Kohl, 1844, p. 144).