A Policeman’s Ireland: Recollections of Samuel Waters, R.I.C.

Samuel Waters followed his father and grandfather into the Irish Constabulary, rising from district inspector in 1866 to assistant inspector general. His colorful and unembittered recollections encompass the Fenian Rising, The Land War and the 1916 Insurrection, after which he retired to Skerries in Co. Dublin.

These memoirs illuminate the intelligence work of the R.I.C., as well as the social and sporting compensations of a policeman’s life in all four provinces. Waters records unexpectedly friendly interactions between police and army in which he had to restrain a group of Fenian fans from beating up his military opponents.

The editor’s introduction highlights the problems of policing Ireland during a century and a half of turmoil, and explains why a policeman’s job could be a relatively happy one!