The Blacks and Tans in County Cork, 1920
The Blacks and Tans were temporary policemen hired by the United Kingdom to assist the Royal Irish Constabulary during the Irish War of Independence of 1919-1921. The "Blacks and Tans" were nicknamed as such because of the colors of the mixed khaki British Army and green Royal Irish Constabulary colors on their uniforms. The group's members were mostly unemployed World War I veterans, and 9,500 men joined the Blacks and Tans. Among the Black and Tans, .6% had criminal records before the war, most of them were English from London or southern England (and most of them from the urban working-class) from ages 18 to 24, 1 in 5 were Irish Catholics, and two-thirds on the Special Reserve were former soldiers. The Blacks and Tans were responsible for several atrocities in addition to fighting the Irish Republican Army, and they are hated in Ireland due to their negative legacy.