Dublin Metropolitan Police

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Dublin Metropolitan Police
Póilíní Chathair Átha Cliath
Police force
Jurisdictional structure
National agencyUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Operations jurisdictionDublin, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Map of Dublin city, 1891
Size114.99 km2 (44.40 sq mi)
Population233,726 (1841)
304,802 (1911)
General nature

The Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP) was the police force of Dublin in British-controlled Ireland from 1836 to 1925, when it was amalgamated into the new state's Garda Síochána.

History

Burial site of many members of the DMP, Glasnevin Cemetery.

19th century

The Dublin city police had been subject to major reforms in 1786 and 1808.[1] Organised rural policing in Ireland began when Robert Peel, then Chief Secretary for Ireland, created the Peace Preservation Force in 1814.[2] This rudimentary paramilitary police force was designed to provide policing in rural Ireland, replacing the 18th century system of watchmen, baronial constables, revenue officers and British military forces. Peel went on to found the London Metropolitan Police.

In 1822, a new act[

which?] created four improved "county" constabularies, whose organisation was based around the traditional provinces of Ireland.[2]

1836: reform

Dublin Police Act 1836
Act of Parliament
6 & 7 Will. 4. c. 29
Dates
Royal assent4 July 1836
Other legislation
Repealed byStatute Law (Repeals) Act 2013
Status: Repealed

In 1836, the county constabularies were merged into a new centralised

6 & 7 Will. 4. c. 29) as an unarmed, uniformed force of one thousand day and night constables. The Castle-controlled organisation was more accountable than the untrained constables and night watchmen it replaced.[1][3]

The 1836 Act authorised the "chief governor of Ireland" to establish a police office in Dublin, supported by two salaried justices, to administer the police force which would be under the direction of the Chief Secretary for Ireland.[3] It also provided for the recruitment and appointment of policemen and the regulation of their conduct.[3] It also created powers of arrest and made arrangements for the financial affairs of the new force, including new taxation.[3]

The DMP was modelled closely on London's

Chief Constable, they were commanded by a Commissioner, who was not a police officer, but a magistrate holding a Commission of the Peace. The first Commissioner of the Dublin Metropolitan Police was John Lewis More O'Ferrall, brother of Richard More O'Ferrall.[4] This was descended from the 18th century system of controlling parish constables
, and was a sop to the public's fears about the danger of a standing police force under government control.

A policeman is about to check an approaching car near Phibsborough.

1880s: Land War

The force came under considerable pressure in the 1880s during the Land War, in which 500 policemen were injured. A series of protest meetings were held and strikes were threatened in 1882.[3]

20th century

During the Lock-out, the police break up a union rally on Dublin's Sackville Street, August 1913

1913–14: Dublin Lock-out

Two men died and several hundred people were injured over the course of the five-month

Dublin Lock-out, including two hundred policemen. Although the police were involved in "frequent collisions" with union members and used tactics such as baton charges against them, a vice-regal commission cleared them of wrongdoing after the events – though their reputation had suffered considerably.[3]

1916 onwards

As an unarmed urban force, the Dublin Metropolitan Police did not participate as actively in the

Edward Broy, who passed valuable intelligence to Michael Collins
throughout the conflict.

In the 1996 film Michael Collins, Broy is discovered and subsequently tortured and killed by the British. In reality, he was not caught and went on to become the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána in the 1930s. His fate in the film is based on that of Dick McKee, who, with Peadar Clancy and the civilian Conor Clune, was murdered after torture in Dublin Castle on "Bloody Sunday", 21 November 1920.[6]

After the creation of the

Dublin Metropolitan
" is today a geographic region of the Garda Síochána's command structure.

Unlike the RIC, but in common with police forces in Great Britain, the DMP was an unarmed force. In contrast to the green uniformed RIC, the DMP wore dark blue with silver insignia.

Ranks

Ranks[7]
circa 1893-1901
Chief Commissioner Commissioner Chief
superintendent
Superintendent Inspector Sub-Inspector Station
Sergeant
Staff Sergeant Sergeant Constable Supernumerary
Constable
Ranks[8][9][10][11][12]
circa 1918-1924
Commissioner Divisional
commissioner
Assistant
divisional commissioner
Chief
superintendent
Superintendent Inspector Station
Sergeant
Staff Sergeant Sergeant Constable Supernumerary
Constable

References

  1. ^
    Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
    , Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008
  2. ^ .
  3. ^ (PDF) from the original on 2 June 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  4. ^ Murphy, David. "O'Ferrall, John Lewis More". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  5. .
  6. .
  7. ^ "Dublin Metropolitan Police 1836-1922". Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  8. ^ "53". Constabulary and Police (Ireland) Act, 1918 (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  9. ^ "Dublin Metropolitan Police general register 1837-07 – 1925-01". Archived from the original on 30 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  10. ^ "R.I.C and D.M.P. Uniform, Badges and Buttons". Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  11. ^ "Police Forces Amalgamation Act, 1925". Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  12. ^ "War of Independence R.I.C. and D.M.P. Killed". Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.

External links