Thomas Carroll, or O’Carroll as he became known in Maungakaramea, New Zealand, is the first member of my family found to have served in the Irish Constabulary. The Irish Constabulary, granted the ‘Royal’ prefix in 1867, was the military-like force policing in Ireland, under British rule.
Initially, I wasn’t sure how I felt about Thomas’s involvement in a police force often viewed with suspicion by the general population and disbanded as soon as the Irish Free State was established in 1922. Nonetheless, genealogically speaking, the opportunity to explore a new-to-me record set was pretty exciting. And, while the senior ranks of the force were predominantly made up of Anglo-Irish Protestants, the rank and file mirrored the Irish population in terms of religion and social class.
The entire General Register for the force is now online and includes Thomas Carroll's service record. Starting with his registered number, 21814, the Register reveals he was appointed on 18 May 1857, aged 20 years, indicating he was born between 19 May 1836 and 18 May 1837. Thomas claimed Tipperary as his native county.
This fits nicely with what we already know. My great-great-grandfather Maurice Carroll claimed he too was born in Co. Tipperary, about 1838, and the baptisms of their siblings, Mary Carroll in 1841 and David Carroll in 1847, were found in the registers of the RC church, in Fethard, Co. Tipperary.
The Register confirms SI Heard, i.e. Sub-Inspector Heard, recommended Thomas for the post, meaning they knew each other personally. So, if we can trace where SI Heard was in 1857, we'd probably learn where Thomas lived too. The Register only names the county, and not the specific parish where each man was stationed.
SI Heard was appointed in 1837 and initially spent two years in Kilkenny, followed by over five years in Clare and then nearly ten years in Limerick. On 1 March 1857, he was transferred to Clare for a further five years, and on 1 March 1862, by which time Thomas was settling into his new home in New Zealand, SI Heard commenced a stint in Tipperary.
References to SI Heard in the newspapers place him in the station in Castleconnell, Co. Limerick in 1847 and in Carrick on Suir, Co. Tipperary in 1863. And, we already know Thomas Carroll's parents, David and Catherine (Cummins) Carroll, had moved to Castleconnell by 1859, so we can now be reasonably sure this was where Thomas lived when he joined the Constabulary in 1857.
After four months training, Thomas was allocated to a barracks in Co. Clare. On joining, he would have held the lowest rank in the force, that of Second Sub-Constable. No mention of him was found in the newspapers, nor in the Petty Session court records, where he might have been named, had he charged someone with an offence. So we don't know where exactly in Co. Clare Thomas was stationed. We do know SI Heard also served in Clare at this time, and in 1858, trade directories place him in Ennis. Perhaps Thomas served with him in Ennis too. We'll probably never know for sure.
Thomas stood 5 feet, 8¾ inches tall when he joined the Irish Constabulary, a ¼ inch short of the standard height requirement. This condition was sometimes relaxed when the force was under-staffed. Thomas worked as a labourer before his appointment, although we know he was literate, as this was a condition of joining.
Thomas resigned his position on 8 January 1861, with a gratuity of £6 15 shillings and 5 pence. This fits with him settling in New Zealand in 1862, having first 'travelled a great deal'. And, it clarifies how he funded his trip. Unusually, the reason for his resignation was not documented, although the record clearly shows the man joining immediately after him left 'to emigrate' and the man who joined immediately before him left 'to join the Pope's army'.
Sources:
Initially, I wasn’t sure how I felt about Thomas’s involvement in a police force often viewed with suspicion by the general population and disbanded as soon as the Irish Free State was established in 1922. Nonetheless, genealogically speaking, the opportunity to explore a new-to-me record set was pretty exciting. And, while the senior ranks of the force were predominantly made up of Anglo-Irish Protestants, the rank and file mirrored the Irish population in terms of religion and social class.The entire General Register for the force is now online and includes Thomas Carroll's service record. Starting with his registered number, 21814, the Register reveals he was appointed on 18 May 1857, aged 20 years, indicating he was born between 19 May 1836 and 18 May 1837. Thomas claimed Tipperary as his native county.
This fits nicely with what we already know. My great-great-grandfather Maurice Carroll claimed he too was born in Co. Tipperary, about 1838, and the baptisms of their siblings, Mary Carroll in 1841 and David Carroll in 1847, were found in the registers of the RC church, in Fethard, Co. Tipperary.
The Register confirms SI Heard, i.e. Sub-Inspector Heard, recommended Thomas for the post, meaning they knew each other personally. So, if we can trace where SI Heard was in 1857, we'd probably learn where Thomas lived too. The Register only names the county, and not the specific parish where each man was stationed. SI Heard was appointed in 1837 and initially spent two years in Kilkenny, followed by over five years in Clare and then nearly ten years in Limerick. On 1 March 1857, he was transferred to Clare for a further five years, and on 1 March 1862, by which time Thomas was settling into his new home in New Zealand, SI Heard commenced a stint in Tipperary.
References to SI Heard in the newspapers place him in the station in Castleconnell, Co. Limerick in 1847 and in Carrick on Suir, Co. Tipperary in 1863. And, we already know Thomas Carroll's parents, David and Catherine (Cummins) Carroll, had moved to Castleconnell by 1859, so we can now be reasonably sure this was where Thomas lived when he joined the Constabulary in 1857.
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| Thom's Irish Almanac, 1857 |
After four months training, Thomas was allocated to a barracks in Co. Clare. On joining, he would have held the lowest rank in the force, that of Second Sub-Constable. No mention of him was found in the newspapers, nor in the Petty Session court records, where he might have been named, had he charged someone with an offence. So we don't know where exactly in Co. Clare Thomas was stationed. We do know SI Heard also served in Clare at this time, and in 1858, trade directories place him in Ennis. Perhaps Thomas served with him in Ennis too. We'll probably never know for sure.
Thomas stood 5 feet, 8¾ inches tall when he joined the Irish Constabulary, a ¼ inch short of the standard height requirement. This condition was sometimes relaxed when the force was under-staffed. Thomas worked as a labourer before his appointment, although we know he was literate, as this was a condition of joining.
Thomas resigned his position on 8 January 1861, with a gratuity of £6 15 shillings and 5 pence. This fits with him settling in New Zealand in 1862, having first 'travelled a great deal'. And, it clarifies how he funded his trip. Unusually, the reason for his resignation was not documented, although the record clearly shows the man joining immediately after him left 'to emigrate' and the man who joined immediately before him left 'to join the Pope's army'.
Sources:
- Thomas O'Carroll, Obituary, 1918, Northern Advocate, 21 October 1918, p. 2, Past Papers.
- Ireland, Royal Irish Constabulary Service Records 1816-1922, $ FindmyPast.
- Kerry Examiner, 5 November 1847, p. 3; Freemans Journal, 10 January 1863, p. 1.
- Catholic Parish Registers at the NLI, Mary Carroll 21 November 1841, David Carroll 6 January 1847, Fethard, Baptisms 1 March 1836 - 30 January 1847, Microfilm 02504 / 06.
- Thom's Irish Almanac 1857 and 1858, Government Departments of Ireland, Thom's Directory, 1844-1900, $ FindmyPast.
I know what you mean about not being sure of your feelings about an RIC ancestor. I wasn't exactly thrilled to find one in my tree either. Can't chose your relatives right?
ReplyDeleteThat's one of the reasons why I love genealogy. Ellie, it makes you examine all your old prejudices, even ones you didn't know you had, and re-evaluate everything from an alternative viewpoint. For much of the 19th century (tithes wars, land wars, aside), the RIC rank and file were ordinary Irishmen, a part of the community, and being literate often helped people with reading, writing etc. They had people's respect, were very effective, and were considered one of the best police forces around the world.
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