MR Fiach Maguire

Peeler and Patriot MR Fiach Maguire

This is a true story about one man's stand against both sides of the Irish revolution. A District Inspector in Ireland's 'British' police struggling to keep the town of Westport safe, made a deal with the IRA. He also prevented extrajudicial killings, on one occasion by facing down the guns of a platoon of British Auxiliary police officers. His superiors called him the 'Sinn Fein DI'. This duality followed Francis Maguire throughout his career as a policeman. He was an instructor of the Black and Tans and then of the first officers of An Garda Síochána. Francis started out as a lowly farm hand and rose to become a District Inspector of the Royal Irish Constabulary and then a Chief Superintendent of An Garda Síochána. Born in Manchester and raised in Ulster, he spoke the Irish language with an English accent. At the height of the war of independence, one fateful day in Mayo, Francis's English accent would save his life. Experience what it was like to live through those turbulent years by walking in the shoes of an unlikely hero. A human story told in a lyrical and compelling manner, Peeler and Patriot illuminates and entertains in equal measure.