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By Carmel Hayes
FOUR new Gardai from Laois are present after holding a proud graduation ceremony.
The quartet from Portlaoise, Camross and Ballylinan were congratulated by Justice Minister Helen McEntee at the fainting rite at Garda Training College, Templemore, last Friday.
Unusually, 3 of the 4 local graduates are women and one even returned from Australia to enlist in the armed forces.
Stephanie Traynor and Niamh O’Connor from Portlaoise, Jack Cuddy from Camross and Emma Murphy from Ballylinan were the 157 gardai witnessed at the event.
Niamh flew to Sydney last October with colleagues from Scoil Chríost Rí, but returned for a physical in April, after interviewing and taking the tests required by the Garda. It’s a long-standing dream come true for the young Portlaoise, who will be in Bray. Co Wicklow.
Meanwhile, Stephanie will be in Bridewell, in central Dublin, while Jack has been assigned to Clontarf and Emma to Clondalkin, both also in Dublin.
The newest graduates bring the number of qualified probationary gardaí to 710 since the resumption of recruitment in 2022, after Covid restrictions suspended recruitment two years earlier. More than 320 were new certificates this year.
The graduates began their education last October and undertook a combination of online learning, face-to-face sessions at Garda College and painting studios at Garda’s resorts.
They also participated in network surveillance, observed and assisted in the investigation of serious crimes, performed police duties across the country on St. Patrick’s Day occasions, and participated in network events and ceremonies.
Just over a third (35%) of new recruits are women, while 11% were born outside Ireland and come from the United States, Pakistan, Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Brazil and Romania. In total, the Garda Síochána has 14,100 sworn gardaí, 3,502 garda workers and 329 garda reservists.
Another 294 recruits are attending the program in Templemore lately.
Speaking at the certification rite on June 28, Commissioner Drew Harris said, “As you prepare to embark on the path ahead, you are vital to the adventure that got you to where you are today. It took strength. It required dedicación. se needed the will to succeed and the preference to serve.
“As a gardaí, you have a duty to serve the Irish people. Ensure their safety, put them first, act ethically, professionally and with integrity with respect to the human rights of everyone you come into contact with.
He added: “As a gardaí, it is your duty to meet the highest standards. That’s what the public expects and deserves, and that’s what I hope too. Being a garda is a privilege and an honour.