The Irish Police Guide. For the Use of the Civic Guard and the Police Forces of Northern Ireland. Dublin: Alex Thom, 1923. Eight Edition (Revised). Pp xv, 654. Publisher’s green cloth boards, title lettered in gilt to spine. Light shelf-wear to boards, contents pages in very good condition throughout.

A significant early manual of policing in the newly established Irish Free State, this is the first Police Guide issued after the State’s creation in December 1922. In his preface, Rice notes that the edition has been “thoroughly overhauled and brought up to date in accordance with existing conditions,” reflecting the profound institutional changes following the War of Independence and the Civil War.

With the disbandment of the Royal Irish Constabulary after the July 1921 Truce, a new national police force—the Civic Guard—was formed under the direction of Michael Collins and the Provisional Government. Renamed Garda Síochána na hÉireann on 8 August 1923, the force would later absorb the Dublin Metropolitan Police in 1925. This guide therefore stands as an important transitional document, capturing the legal, administrative, and operational framework of policing at a pivotal moment in Irish state formation.