The Irish RMs: The Resident Magistrates in the British Administration of Ireland.

The Irish RMs: The Resident Magistrates in the British Administration of Ireland, by Penny Bonsall. Portland, Oregon Four Courts Press (distributed by I.S.B.S.), 1997. 224 pp. $45.00 U.S.

Between 1899 and 1915 the Anglo-Irish writers Edith Somerville and Violet Martin Ross published their tales about Major Sinclair Yeates, resident magistrate for the fictional "Skebawn" district of County Cork. These hilarious yams furnish most scholars with their limited knowledge of the "Irish R.M.," for there is little about the institution in the historical literature. Penny Bonsall's readable study, based on intensive research in Irish and British archives, was needed.

The Constabulary Act (Ireland) of 1836 created the …