Europe, Social Sciences, Social Services & Welfare 

"The Civic Gaurd will succeed not by force of arms, or numbers, but on their moral authority as servants of the people."Thus spoke Michael Staines, the first Garda Commissioner, in September 1922. Staines had been chairman of the committee that had set up the Civic Gaurd-later to become the Garda Siochana-in February of that year. Between than and 1952, 10,135 men joined the force.In A History of the Garda Siochana author Liam McNiffe tells of the influence of the RIC on the early Garda Siochana, the Kildare Mutiny, the decision to have an unarmed police force, the Broy Harriers, the attempt to make the force bilingual, involvement in sport, and the struggle of garda representative bodies to win for their members improved pay and allowances.As much of the archival material relating to the post-1952 period had, as of this writing, not yet been released, the bulk of this book is concerned with the early years of the force. However, Dr. McNiffe includes a chapter bringing us up to date to the service of the gardai as part of UN police forces in countries such as Croatia and Somalia in the 1990s.This book is a must for all gardai and their families. It will also prove invaluable to anyone curious about the social and political conditions that shaped life in Ireland in the first half of this century. - from Amzon