Page "Black and Tans" Paragraph 3

In January 1920, the British government started advertising in British cities for men willing to " face a rough and dangerous task ", helping to boost the ranks of the RIC in policing an increasingly anti-British Ireland.

There was no shortage of recruits, many of them unemployed First World War army veterans, and by November 1921 about 9, 500 men had joined.

This sudden influx of men led to a shortage of RIC uniforms, and the new recruits were issued with khaki army uniforms ( usually only trousers ) and dark green RIC or blue British police surplus tunics, caps and belts.

These uniforms differentiated them from the Army and the Regular RIC, and gave rise to the force's nickname: Christopher O ' Sullivan wrote in the Limerick Echo on 25 March 1920 that, meeting a group of recruits on a train at Limerick Junction, the attire of one reminded him of the Scarteen Hunt, whose " Black and Tans " nickname derived from the coloration of its Kerry Beagles.

Ennis comedian Mike Nono elaborated the joke in Limerick's Theatre Royal, and the nickname soon took hold, persisting even after the men received full RIC uniforms.