Come Out, Ye Black and Tans - Background and Context

Background and Context

The lyrics are rich with references to the history of Irish nationalism and the activities of the British Army throughout the world. The song ties Irish nationalism to the struggles of other peoples against the British Empire across the world.

While the title of the song refers to the Black and Tans of the War of Independence era, the specific context of the song is a dispute between Irish republican and loyalist neighbours in inner-city Dublin in the 1920s. For centuries, Dublin was the centre of The Pale, an area fully under control of the Crown, even when England had little control of the rest of Ireland. It was only with the arrival of Protestant settlers in Ulster in the Plantation of Ulster of the 17th century that the north of Ireland became an alternative centre of loyalism to Britain. Dublin continued to elect unionist politicians and voluntary service in the British Army was a popular career choice amongst working-class Dubliners, both Catholic and Protestant. This tradition continued long after Irish independence. The relative loyalty of Dublin is emphasised by its policing. The rest of Ireland was policed by the militarily organised Royal Irish Constabulary, a form of gendarmerie, whereas Dublin had its own police force, the Dublin Metropolitan Police, which was a civilian force similar to that found in any large British city.

Supporting this tradition was the existence of a relatively large, and now generally forgotten and disappeared, Dublin Protestant working class. It is this Loyalist working class of both religions who the composer is confronting in the song. One of the few representations of this cultural group is Bessie Burgess in the Sean O'Casey play The Plough and the Stars.

Therefore the song is not only an indication of the bitterness which the Behans felt for the way they were treated by the Free State after freedom was attained but an indication that the bitternesses caused by the Irish War of Independence endured in Dublin for many years, just as those of the Irish Civil War endured in the countryside.