Jack Masterman "To what extend was British colonial policing based on the experience of policing Ireland?" Policing the geographically varied and culturally diverse British Empire posed a significant challenge to the British Government throughout the Empire's history, but they did draw on their centuries long experience of policing Ireland to inform how they did it to a large extent despite certain anomalies which cannot be avoided. On mainland Britain the police, or Bobbies as they were affectionately referred too, have long been an object of national pride for politicians and the public alike. Their media representation, which emphasises their moderate, sensible and apolitical nature1 has been contrasted with the much harsher style employed on the continent by the French Flics or German Bulles2. Despite this national affection for the Bobby, the British experience in policing Ireland is that which was largely exported to the colonies to maintain control and order in them. This Irish experience will first be outlined in contrast to the mainland one, which will raise several notable features of it. The Indian State of Madras and Bombay city, Canada and Ceylon and their respective police forces will all then be considered to be able to draw a comprehensive conclusion regarding the extent to which the experience of policing Ireland formed the basis of British colonial policing. Broadly speaking, the examples of Madras, Bombay and Canada will demonstrate the Irish experience was used as a general blueprint for colonial policing, despite small variations within them, whereas Ceylon and its police will provide a necessary counterbalance to this argument. Therefore, to a great extent, British colonial policing was based on the policing experience in Ireland but the sheer variation and diversity in the Empire meant differences in policing were inevitable, a small number of anomalies will exist, and one must ultimately emphasise the adaptive and changeable nature of policing. Britain's role and actions in Ireland long predates its wider colonial conquests which led Britain to become the preeminent global power but experience in Ireland informed many of its later colonial decisions in a broad range of areas and this, to a large extent, is the case with regards to policing. The Irish experience of policing was a costly, challenging, and bloody one in which the British Government had to deal with a range of issues they would later be faced with in the wider Empire. These issues can be divided into criminal, political, agrarian and religious3 ones which, early in the nineteenth century, led to Sir Robert Peel's Peace Preservation Act and the laying of the foundations for the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). The RIC's development as an institution, policing of certain notable events, and interaction with the population of Ireland in different ways must first be noted as this will form the blueprint later largely exported to the colonies, but adapted to suit local needs. At its conception, this force was a "formidable, fighting body"4 with a militaristic character best exemplified by its military-esq uniform and right to