The Civic Guard, later renamed An Garda Síochána was founded during a secretive meeting at the Gresham Hotel on February 9th, 1922. Michael Collins wrote letters of invitation to an unlikely combination of policemen, IRA volunteers and politicians, many of whom put aside their differences and came together to found a new police force. The Royal Irish Constabulary, which had policed Ireland for over a century was being disbanded, the fledgling new Irish Free State had no police force, and a bitter and divisive Civil War seemed inevitable. This lecture will tell the full story of that meeting and the remarkable events which followed. To book contact: Nenagh Tourist Office 0871871932 or nenaghtouristoffice@tipperarycoco.ie Free event

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Co. Tipperary