 From August 1920 to August 1922 Gormanston was used by the Royal Irish Constabulary Black and Tans as a sub-depot for the training of new recruits, and as well as a despatch centre to send Black and Tans all over the country.The officers were responsible for a policy of drunken violence beating up local communities.Macready's deputy, Andy Cope visited Gormanston himself and Balbriggan after the outrages; he and Sir Mark Sturgis concluded that the RIC was not out of control, but the reprisals was the fault of poor leadership from the officers, lack of training and drill.