The Irish Revenue Police

A short history and genealogical guide to the 'Poteen Hussars'

Jim Herlihy

'We are presented with a tour de force by Jim Herlihy in this newly published book about the Irish Revenue Police ... There can be no person with greater knowledge than he about this subject nor indeed enthusiasm for it ... For the genealogist and family historian with Irish police somewhere in their background, this book is a great boon ... A well-researched volume bringing to light little-known historical resources. It is a compact book, easy to use and handle, the contents well laid out and with plentiful illustrations. [A book] that will prove its value again and again over the coming years', Mary Casteleyn, Irish Archives (2018). 

'It would be difficult to find a question on the Irish Revenue Police that the researcher would not find an answer to in this book with its 24 Appendices and numerous areas of easily accessed information and statistics. Jim Herlihy has again done a splendid job on his research for this book. Already an acknowledged expert on the RIC, DMP and Garda Siochana, this work of reference should find a valuable place on every researcher's bookcase', Police Service Gazette (May 2018).

'Jim Herlihy has created another valuable work of detailed research that will be of interest and use to both police and family historians', Police History Society (June 2018)

'This latest work from Ireland's premier authority of the history of policing in Ireland from the early part of the nineteenth century to the establishment of the Civic Guard in 1922 ... joins an impressive body of research already published by the same author on Irish police forces of the past. Indeed, for genealogists these publications have been invaluable in their search for ancestors who serviced in the Royal Irish Constabulary, Dublin Metropolitan Police and their respective predecessors ... The illustrations provide an excellent commentary in themselves ... As with each of his publications, Jim provides an excellent guide on the existing records of the Irish Revenue Police and how to access and research this resource for those with ancestors who served as 'poteen hussars'. He also provides an extensive series of appendices filled with detailed information on the Irish Revenue Police and those who served in it ...The centrepiece of this is a complete list of every man who served in the IRP from 1830 to 1857.' Ireland's Genealogical Gazette, (2018).

'This book ... is rather a handbook or guide to the force between about 1830 and its disbandment in 1857 ... Herlihy has collected and collated a great deal of valuable information ... this book will prove an essential resource.' , Elizabeth Malcolm, Irish Historical Studies , (May 2019).

'Herlihy explains how to find information on individual policemen, providing an excellent resource for those interested in the history of the IRP and the period, which included the Irish Famine ... Jim Herlihy has again produced a real gift for students and researches of Irish police forces. The text is crisp and very readable. The examples given are clear and informative. The tables and lists are concise but packed with useful information. The book is also beautifully illustrated. All told, it is a 'must' for the discerning researcher of the period', Neil Cobbett, Archives and Records, The Journal of the Archives and Records Association, 40;2, 229-230, (2019).