 As Britain 's control of Ireland eroded in 1920 during the Irish War of Independence , the 1st Battalion deployed to Bantry , County Cork . The county was a ferment of Republican activity where British forces frequently subjected the movement 's supporters to oppressive measures in an attempt to curtail escalating violence . Compared to other regiments operating in the county , such as the Essex Regiment , the King 's acquired a favourable reputation among its adversaries for their professionalism and humane treatment of prisoners — which reputedly saved the lives of some Kingsmen . Their conduct was described by Tom Barry , a prominent IRA leader , as " exemplary in all the circumstances " . After the establishment of the Irish Free State in the south , the battalion moved to Northern Ireland to be stationed in Derry and Omagh . 
