The Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP) was the police force of Dublin in British-controlled Ireland from 1836 to 1922 and then the Irish Free State until 1925, when it was absorbed into the new state's Garda Síochána.
History
thumb|Burial site of many members of the DMP, [[Glasnevin Cemetery.]]
19th century
The Dublin city police had been subject to major reforms by the Dublin Police Act 1786 and the Dublin Police Magistrates Act 1808. Organised rural policing in Ireland began when Robert Peel, then Chief Secretary for Ireland, created the Peace Preservation Force under the Unlawful Combinations (Ireland) Act 1814. 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.
The Irish Constabulary Act 1822 created four improved "county" constabularies, whose organisation was based around the traditional provinces of Ireland.
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. 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.
Distinctions between DMP and RIC
Unlike the armed and rural based gendarmerie style RIC , but in common with civil police forces elsewhere in Great Britain, the DMP remained a force usually equipped only with batons. The RIC were located in small town or village "barracks", although these were often the family houses of individual constables. In contrast to the green uniformed RIC, the DMP wore dark blue with silver insignia.
thumb|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. A total of three men were killed and seven injured in the Rising. 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 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.
After the creation of the Irish Free State, the DMP became known as (Police of Dublin) from 1922 to 1925, after which the force ceased to exist as a separate entity, being absorbed into the (Guardians of the Peace).<br/>circa 1893–1901
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!rowspan=3|Ranks<br/>circa 1918–1924
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Notes
References
External links
- DMP Roll of Honour in the British National Police Officers Roll of Honour (since this only covers UK forces, the DMP pages only cover up to 1922)
- Article about DMP on occasion of centenary of 1913 Lockout
- A History of the Dublin Metropolitan Police and Its Colonial Legacy
- Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP) Prisoners Books 1905-1918. A UCD Digital Library Collection.
- DMP Annual Reports 1875 to 1912 Garda Síochána website