WATCH: 'Most important day of my life' – Offaly woman sworn in as Garda
Birr woman among largest Garda graduating class since 2019
A Birr resident was among the 206 new members of An Garda Síochána who were sworn in at the Garda College in Templemore on Friday, as the force celebrated its largest graduating class since 2019.
Alexandra graduated as part of Intake 254, joining recruits from across Ireland and overseas in a ceremony attended by Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Jim O'Callaghan, Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly and PSNI Chief Constable John Boutcher.
The new probationer Garda will now begin her career in Waterford after completing nine months of training, which combined classroom learning at the Garda College with practical experience in Garda stations.
The graduating class of 206 recruits included 142 men and 64 women, with 24 members born outside Ireland representing 15 different nationalities, including Brazil, Nigeria, Poland, Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovakia and Vietnam. It is the largest single Garda attestation since before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking at the ceremony, Minister Jim O'Callaghan congratulated the graduates as they embarked on careers in public service.
"I want to wish all the members of An Garda Síochána well in their careers. It is a very worthwhile career they are embarking on and also that obviously there are risks involved in it but that I suppose is part of the reason why people want to devote themselves to public service within An Garda Síochána," he said.
He also welcomed the attendance of PSNI Chief Constable John Boutcher at the graduation ceremony.
Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly said the graduation represented another important step in strengthening frontline policing across the country.
"We have 206 members of An Garda Síochána being attested today so that is really welcome for communities all around the country and in addition to that we have just over 200 people arriving into our college on Sunday night. So we are in a really good position around resourcing at the moment," he said.
The newly sworn Gardaí were recruited through the 2024 and 2025 recruitment campaigns. They have now been assigned to stations nationwide, with 94 posted to the Dublin Region, 56 to the Eastern Region, 25 to the Southern Region and 31 to the North Western Region.
Friday's ceremony brings the total number of probationer Gardaí sworn in since recruitment resumed in 2022 to more than 2,200.
An Garda Síochána now has 14,733 sworn members, supported by 3,683 Garda staff, 304 Garda Reserves and 604 Garda trainees. Recruitment continues, with more than 400 recruits currently in training at Templemore and another intake due to begin this week.