Garda and guardian. Protector and punisher. This is 'Lugs' Branigan: the man, the legend. The story of 'Lugs' Branigan is a tale that is long overdue. It is a story of extraordinary courage and compassion, a story of heroism and altruism, a story of crime, punishment and redemption. The legend of 'Lugs''s career as Ireland's most famous garda (police officer), founded on his physical strength and the manner in which he faced up to the criminal gangs of Dublin over the course of fifty years, is part of Dublin's folk history. In The Legendary 'Lugs' Branigan, bestselling historian Kevin C. Kearns presents a revealing and unvarnished portrait of the man and his life, authenticated by the oral testimony of family members, friends and Garda mates who stood with him through the most harrowing and poignant experiences. Born in the Liberties of Dublin in 1910, Jim Branigan was, by his own admission, a shy, scrawny 'sissy' as a lad. Cruelly beaten by bullies in the railway yard where he worked during his teens, he refused to fight back. Yet he went on to become a heavyweight boxing champion and to earn the 'undisputed reputation as the country's toughest and bravest garda'. Chief Superintendent Edmund Doherty proclaimed him 'one of those people who become a legend in his own time'. As a garda he refused to carry a baton, relying upon his fists. He took on the vicious 'animal gangs' of the 1930s and 40s and in the 'Battle of Baldoyle' broke their reign of terror. In the 1950s he quelled the wild 'rock-and-roll riots' and tamed the ruffian Teddy boys with their flick-knives. All the while, he was dealing with Dublin's full array of gurriers and criminals. As a devotee of American Western films and books, Branigan emulated the sheriffs by doling out his unique 'showdown' brand of summary justice to hooligans and thugs on the street. In the 1960s his riot squad with its Garda 'posse' patrolled Dublin's roughest districts in their 'black Maria'. They contended with the most dangerous rows and riots in the streets, dancehalls and pubs. The cry 'Lugs is here!' could instantly scatter a disorderly crowd. Ironically, for all his fame as a tough, fearless garda, he was most beloved for his humanity and compassion. His role as guardian of the battered women of the tenements and as protector and father figure of the city's piteous prostitutes—or 'pavement hostesses', as he called them—was unrecorded in the press and hushed up by the Garda brass. Yet, Garda John Collins vouches, 'Women ... oh, he was God to them!' Upon retirement he entered his 'old gunfighter' years; ageing and vulnerable, he became a target for old foes bent on revenge and for 'young guns' seeking a quick reputation. A man with a reputation powerful enough to echo through generations of Dubliners, the legendary 'Lugs' Branigan finally has a book worthy of his story.

James Christopher 'Lugs' Branigan was a garda who became a legend in his own lifetime. An advocate of tough justice, he was a law unto himself. Indeed, 'he had the scars to show he earned the undisputed reputation as the country's toughest and bravest cop'.

This book charts the contours of the criminological enterprise in Ireland and brings together internationally recognized experts to discuss theory, research, policy and practice on a range of topics and in an international context.

This book examines the organisational culture of the Irish police service, speaking in particular to those interested in policing organisations and organisational culture. It is set against a backdrop of considerations such as community policing, police accountability, the management of change in Irish policing, and where the Irish police situates itself in relation to police organisations internationally. An Garda Síochána, the national police service of the Republic of Ireland, has a stated community policing style which focuses on an interactive relationship with the community and results in a largely unarmed policing organisation which makes it different to most police organisations. Yet, the author argues that the organisational culture has prevented them from embodying community policing across the organisation. Exploring the organisation’s historical context and how they are trained, this book draws on new research and data spanning 30 years including tribunals and reports to examine the organisational culture over time including potential misconduct, blame culture, and resistance to change within the organisation, in order to provide a more thorough understanding of a relatively unknown policing organisation.

For over 30 years, renowned author and historian Kevin C. Kearns has been recording and publishing the valuable memories and recollections of Dubliners. In his latest book, he revisits the extraordinary year of 1963, bringing to life the voices of the ordinary people who lived through it in a way no conventional history could match.It was a year like no other. Not for any one monumental event, but for an astonishing sequence of occurrences – triumphs and tragedies, joys and sorrows – that spanned all twelve months.Ireland 1963 deftly records the unrelenting roller coaster ride of dramas, traumas and mysteries of that year: a biblical-like flash flood, tenement collapses and victims, the liberating Bingo Craze, and a frightening 'mystery caller' posing as a priest. And, of course, it was the year of President Kennedy's rapturous four-day visit to Ireland.The year reached its climax with fear for thirty Irish passengers aboard the liner Lakonia, "ablaze and sinking" at sea during Christmas week. Yet, a series of happy and frolicsome events throughout the year balanced people's emotions and brought great joy to their lives.Such a bewildering and fascinating year demands a grass-roots type of social history, one that is biographical in nature. Kevin C. Kearns humanises these events by relying on oral history from participants and observers who were on the scene over fifty years ago. Their words and emotions bring a riveting authenticity and immediacy to this wondrous biography of the extraordinary year of 1963.

The first half of this century was the heyday of Dublin's vibrant and bustling traditional street life. Now in Dublin's Street Life and Lore, through the vivid oral histories of the participants themselves, Professor Kevin Kearns chronicles this rich street life and lore for future generations. The fascinating and often poignant verbal testimonies of Dublin's last surviving tram drivers, lamplighters, market traders, street dealers, spielers, buskers, local characters and others of their vanishing breed, comprise a wholly original and captivating personal historical record of Dublin's long renowned street life, told in Professor Kearns's uniquely engaging and informative style. Dublin Street Life and Lore: Table of Contents Introduction - Dublin Street Life and Oral Urbanlore - Historical Perspectives on Dublin Street Types - Street Figures of Yesteryear Lamplighters Dockers Postmen Chimney Sweep Signwriter Pawnbroker Fortune Teller - Dealers, Spielers, Vendors and Collectors Market and Street Dealers Spieler Newspaper Vendors Scrap Collectors - Transport and Vehicles Men Jarveys Tram Drivers Pioneer Cabbie Bicycle and Car Parkers Busman - Animal Dealers, Drovers and Fanciers Drovers Horse Dealers Pig Raiser Bird Market Men Pigeon Fanciers - Entertainers and Performers Buskers Pavement Artists Mimes and Clowns Bardic Street Poets

For nearly 150 years, the wretched, squalid tenements of Dublin were widely judged to be the worst slums in all of Europe. By the 1930s, 6,400 tenements were occupied by almost 112,000 tenants. Some districts had up to 800 people to the acre, up to 100 occupants in one building, and twenty family members crammed into a single tiny room. It was a hard world of hunger, disease, high mortality, unemployment, heavy drinking, prostitution and gang warfare. But despite their hardship, the tenement poor enjoyed an incredibly closely knit community life in which they found great security and indeed, happiness. As one policeman recalls from over half a century ago, they were 'extraordinarily happy for people who were so savagely poor'. Contents of Dublin Tenement Life - History and Evolution of the Tenement Slum Problem Physical Deterioration Profiteering Landlords and Powerless Tenants Overcrowding, Sanitation, and Illness Social Stigmas and Stereotypes The Press and Public Enlightenment Housing Reform and Slum Clearance Oral History and Tenement Folklore - Social Life in the Tenement Communities Community Spirit and Gregarious Nature The Home Setting Economic Struggle Securing Food and Clothing Health, Sickness, and Treatments Entertainment and Street Life Religion and MoralsCourting, Marriage, and Childbirth The Role of Men, Mothers, and Grannies Drinking, Gambling, Prostitution, and Animal Gangs Death, Superstitions, and Wakes - Oral Testimony: The Monto and Dockland Maggie Murray—Age 80 Timmy "Duckegg" Kirwan—Age 72 Alice Caulfield—Age 66 Chrissie Hawkins—Age 83 Johnny Campbell—Age 68 Mary Waldron—Age 80 Billy Dunleavy—Age 86 Nellie Cassidy—Age 78 Elizabeth "Bluebell" Murphy—Age 75 - Oral Testimony: The Liberties Nancy Cullen—Age 71 Paddy Mooney—Age 72 Harry Mushatt—Age 83 Margaret Byrne—Age 72 John-Joe Kennedy—Age 75 Frank Lawlor—Age 66 Mary O'Neill—Age 84 John O'Dwyer—Age 70 Tommy Maher—Age 81 Lily Foy—Age 60 Senan Finucane—Age 73 Christy Murray—Age 86 Bridie Chambers—Age 66 John Gallagher—Age 60 Mickey Guy—Age 72 Margaret Coyne—Age 72 Patrick O'Leary—Age 70 Jimmy Owens—Age 68 Elizabeth "Lil" Collins—Age 91 Stephen Mooney—Age 65 - Oral Testimony: The Northside Paddy Casey—Age 65 Chrissie O'Hare—Age 76 John V. Morgan—Age 70 Peggy Pigott—Age 65 Mary Chaney—Age 84 Father Michael Reidy—Age 76 Ellen Preston—Age 65 Thomas Lyng—Age 70 Una Shaw—Age 61 Con Foley—Age 75 Margaret Byrne—Age 81 Jimmy McLoughlin—Age 50 - Four Tenement Tales Mary Doolan of Francis Street Noel Hughes of North King Street Mary Corbally of Corporation Street May Hanaphy of Golden Lane