Dublin Guard The Dublin Guard was a unit of the Irish Republican Army , in the Irish War of Independence and then of the Irish National Army during the Irish Civil War 1922 - 23 . Foundation . In May 1921 the Active Service Unit of the Irish Republican Army ' s Dublin Brigade and the " Squad " assassination unit were amalgamated . The Guard was created due to the heavy losses sustained by the Dublin Brigade in their burning of the Custom House on May 25 , 1921 . Five IRA volunteers were killed in the operation and eighty three captured . Paddy Daly , previously head of the Squad , was put in command of the new unit . The Guard became part of the new National Army of the Irish Free State in January 1922 . They were supportive of the Anglo - Irish Treaty which split the IRA , in large part because of their personal loyalty to Michael Collins . At this time , its numbers were greatly expanded from a core of IRA veterans to a battalion sized unit , and eventually a brigade . The Dublin Guard provided most of the ceremonial parties that took over barracks and installations from the British , wearing a dark green uniform with brown leather webbing . When the Free State Army was expanded to over sixty thousand men , most of its troops were equipped with dyed British uniforms and webbing . The Guard however retained its original distinctive uniform , and was sometimes nicknamed the " Green and Tans " by hardline IRA men . Civil War . On the outbreak of the Irish Civil War in June 1922 , the Dublin Guard were heavily involved in securing Dublin for the Free State ( see Battle of Dublin ) . These troops were among the most experienced and motivated men possessed by the Irish Free State in the civil war . For this reason , they were to the forefront in the Free State offensive of July – August 1922 which took the Munster Republic and secured most of the territory of the new state for its government . Among the officers were Brigadier Paddy Daly , as well as David Neligan & James McNamara , both of whom had been spies for Collins in the G Division of the Dublin Metropolitan Police . They landed in Fenit in County Kerry in August 1922 and rapidly took Tralee on the same day , which culminated with the capture of Ballymullen barracks which was burnt by the retreating anti - Treaty forces . Over the following days it linked up with troops that landed in Tarbert , other forces moving towards Kerry from Limerick and captured other major towns in the county such as Killarney and Castleisland . In the later stages of the war , the Dublin Guard had become a mix of IRA veterans loyal to Collins and ex - Royal Dublin Fusiliers who earned a fearsome reputation for brutality in Co . Kerry where they were stationed . The Guard was charged with putting down the guerrilla activities of the local anti - treaty IRA . They were perhaps embittered by the killing of their erstwhile commander in chief , Michael Collins , and of their comrades in several ambushes . As a result , they acted with great severity in Kerry . Over 40 republicans died in custody during the war or were summarily shot when captured . On at least three occasions in March 1923 Dublin Guard troops massacred republican prisoners after five of their men had been killed by booby trap bomb at Knocknagoshel . Particularly notorious was the Ballyseedy Massacre , where nine republican prisoners were tied to a landmine which was then detonated . One of the prisoners survived to recount the incident . However , reprisals by the Dublin Guard against local civilians were rare . One recorded instance came in February 1923 , when three individuals later identified as National Army officers shot dead two railway drivers whom they suspected of republican sympathies . Another feature of the Dublin Guard was the high number of combat injuries sustained by its senior officers . Disbandment . In December 1922 , following Collin ' s death , Liam Tobin formed the Irish Republican Army Organisation ( IRAO ) taking in Dublin Guard and other Irish Army officers who shared his view that " higher command . . . was not sufficiently " patriotic " " . President W . T . Cosgrave , head of the government met with the IRAO several times when difficuties arose with an opposing IRB faction of Generals under Richard Mulcahy . Following a reorganisation of the Free State Army in February 1923 ( in early 1923 , Paddy O Daly was promoted to Major General ) the Kerry Command was divided into five battalions , effectively discontinuing the Dublin Guard . After the cessation of hostilities , each battalion was transferred and disbanded . Few members of the Dublin Guard remained in the Free State Army after 1924 . External links . New York Times