Guardians of the Peace is a political history of the Irish police force, An Garda S?ochana, from its foundation at the birth of the Irish State, through the Irish Civil War, the threat of the fascist 'Blueshirts', the continuing campaign of the IRA, De Valera's entry into the Dail in 1932 and the creation, effectively of his own police force - 'The Broy Harriers' - through World War 2.
As the author outlines in his insightful introduction,...