Three young Laois men were among the 70 new recruits sworn in as members of An Garda Síochána yesterday in Templemore.
Alan Kinsella from Courtwood, Ronan McEvoy from Portlaoise and Killian Stynes from Abbeyleix were sworn in at the passing out ceremony in Templemore.
All three began their training in July 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic and have undertaken a blend of on-line learning, on-site learning in the Garda College, and experiential learning in training Garda stations.
These 70 newly sworn Gardaí will now take on operational responsibilities.
“Training to become a member of An Garda Síochána can be demanding under normal circumstances, however undertaking the programme during the COVID crisis will have made it all the more challenging for this intake of trainees,” said Garda Commissioner Drew Harris.
“This group has quickly adapted to a new model of hybrid learning, and each of the 70 Gardaí being attested today has already shown their commitment to keeping people safe.
“I admire their personal strength in seeing the programme through to today’s attestation.
“I am pleased that on a week when we have just marked International Women’s Day, 35% of the new Gardaí passing out today are women, and with already one of the highest rates of female officers in Europe, it is our hope that we can continue building on this progress.”
He added: “These new Gardaí will begin their operational duties right away, and will help implement community policing initiatives as well as work to detect and prevent crime in communities throughout the country.
“This is a proud day for the 70 newly attested Gardaí and their families and I very much look forward to following their careers in the organisation while they work hard to keep people safe.”
Th newly sworn members of An Garda Síochána bring the total number of the force to 14,385.
A further 158 Garda recruits, 2 intakes, are currently undergoing the blended training programme at the Garda College.
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