Description

Irish War of Independence Service Medal IRA Black and Tan medal with Comrac bar

Also known as the Irish War of Independence Service medal 1919-1921.

IRA Black and Tan medal with Comrac bar

Original medal with the comrac bar and original ribbon.

Condition is very good.

 

 

The history of the IRA Black and Tan medal with Comrac bar:

“IRA Black & Tan medal” is the Irish War of Independence Medal, 1919-1921.

Collectors often call it the “Black and Tan medal” simply because it commemorates the conflict period in which the Black & Tans operated — but the Black & Tans themselves never received this medal.

It was issued by the Irish state as a recognition medal for service on the IRA / independence side in the War of Independence (1919-1921).

Official title:

“An Bonn Cogaidh 1919-21”
(“War of Independence Medal”)

It was not contemporaneous with the fighting — it came much later.

Issued when?

It was authorised in late 1941 and the main period of actual issuing / posting out to qualifying veterans was in the mid-1940s (mostly 1942–1944).

So roughly ~20+ years after the war.

Why so late?

There are two main reasons historians usually point to:

  1. The new state took a long time to settle who counted as “legitimate” veterans.
    Civil War politics made recognition complicated.

  2. The Department of Defence undertook a systematic pensions + service verification process in the 1930s–40s.
    Once service records were reviewed for pensions, this also created a basis for who could receive the medal.

Who was eligible?

The “COMRAC” bar

This was issued only to those whose verified service included active combat.

So:

ItemMeaning
Medal onlyyou served in the War of Independence
Medal + COMRAC baryou served in combat operations

That’s the essential purpose:
state recognition of service to the independence struggle — formally, retrospectively — awarded by the Irish state in the 1940s.

It was issued by the Irish Free State (later Ireland) beginning in the 1940s to veterans who had served in the IRA / Óglaigh na hÉireann side during the War of Independence.

The COMRAC bar

  • “Comrac” = Irish for Combat

  • The COMRAC bar was an extra clasp fixed to the ribbon

  • It was only awarded to those who were active in armed service / combat operations (as opposed to supporting roles)

  • The bar is the rarer part — most surviving medals do not have it