Presumably there were some nice Tans as well as the thugs, much like other armies. Occupying colonial forces never get a very good press from history, though, do they? Thoughtful novels about decent Tans doing social work among the poor Irish dont tend to get written, do they? As always, alas, the atrocities of the Tans pale into insignficance when the Civil War started. The course of events after the French revolution and the Russian revolution were followed closely. The overthrow (moderately violent) of a repressive government, followed by a seriously horrifying brother against brother situation after. I look forward to seeing this film, though a balanced historical view is not what we get from Ken Loach. He comes from the redhaired frecklefaced colleen school of stereotypes, which makes a good story of course.