Community was always at the heart of policing for Willie in Clonmel

For his thirty plus years as a Garda, community has been the focus for Willie Leahy.
He became involved in every community where he was stationed and always put that community first and foremost in his police work.

Now retired since last week, he can look back with satisfaction on a job well done, since his first days in the Templemore training college, to his final post as superintendent in Clonmel.
“We are part of the people that we police,” he says. “People sometimes forget when they see a garda in uniform that they are actually from that community. We are no different to the people we are policing, we are community-based and to this day we are community-driven,” said Willie Leahy

BALLINURE
A native of Ballinure, his career took him across his native Tipperary as well as postings in Monaghan, Dublin and Kerry, and when he finished as the officer in charge of the Clonmel district, he was policing an area with 38,000 to 40,000 people, stretching to Kilsheelan, Carrick-on-Suir, Fethard and Mullinahone.
And he was conscious that every one of those had to be dealt with professionally and respectfully in any dealing with the Gardai.

He recalls the advice that a sergeant gave him early in his career. He told him that when you are dealing with someone on the street, or looking at their car driving away from a checkpoint, just ask yourself have you dealt with them in the way you would have liked your mother and father to be dealt with.
“It was a very good yardstick and I have seen throughout my service that we are here to serve the public,” he told The Nationalist from his office in the Emmet Street garda station in the final days before hanging up the uniform.

TEMPLEMORE
Willie Leahy entered Templemore in November, 1990 for his first phase of training, and his first station for the second phase after six months was Dun Laoghaire.
He returned to the college to complete his training and was attested as a sworn member in 1992 when he was posted to Clones, county Monaghan, where a lot of the work involved border duty.

TALLAGHT
From there he moved to Tallaght and fondly recalls his time in the sprawling Dublin suburb.
“It was a great learning station. There are some negative vibes about it today but I spent some of my best time as a garda in Tallaght where the vast majority of people are law-abiding,” he recalls.
He passed out in November, 1992 and his next posting to Clonmel brought him closer to home and he remained in the county town until 2001 when he was promoted to sergeant and transferred to the garda driving school in Templemore where he was trained as a driving instructor.

He remained there until 2003 when he was transferred to Borrisoleigh and nine months later returned to Clonmel as sergeant-in-charge until May 2007.
He recalls those years as difficult ones for the town and for the gardai. Feuds in the town led to a lot of serious incidents, including violent crime and murders.

CLONMEL
“But we got through it and Clonmel is a way better place now. Clonmel is a great town but a tough town to police at times. However, the majority of people are very decent and have a great time for the gardai. People are very community-orientated but if an element gets into a town, one issue might develop into another and for a number of years it was challenging for us,” Superintendent Leahy recalls.
Another promotion saw him move back to Templemore and to the college student probationer school in 2007 and from there to Thurles as inspector.

As there was no detective inspector in the county at the time, he was in charge of crime as well as courts in Nenagh.
In 2008 he was promoted to detective inspector based in Thurles and then promoted to superintendent in 2013.
“That was a very challenging time as a detective inspector but very enjoyable and I loved the work, dealing with a lot of serious crime,” he said.

One of the major crimes he investigated was an aggravated burglary on a firearms dealer in Carrick-on-Suir.
He was then moved to Listowel, county Kerry, as superintendent, before moving back to Clonmel in the same capacity in 2014.
“It was a quieter type of policing in Listowel but there is always something on in Kerry,” he remarks.
Looking back at the time he spent across the county and country, he says – “At every stage where I was stationed it was a different learning experience that helped me as I went further along in the organisation. No two days are the same and you gain so much experience. We deal with the ‘what happens next’ scenario because we don’t know what’s going to happen next.

Experience gives us the tools for our job and to deal with whatever comes in front of us.”
He has seen the role of the garda change over the thirty-three years he spent in the force.
“It is changing because society changing and we have to change with it. We have new systems and equipment but I wouldn’t say that the members that I served with in the 1990s wouldn’t be able to serve today because I served with some great members throughout my service, dealing with some serious cases,” he said.
Following over three decades in the force, Willie Leahy now has more time to spend with his family – his wife Trish, originally from Borrisokane, who runs Trish’s Beauty Salon in Fethard, and his two sons, Liam and Darragh.

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His parents, Liam and Mary, also live nearby, and he has two sisters, Marie and Annette.
And for the next stage of his working life, he is using the skills he developed as a driving instructor at the Templemore Garda College, as he is about to open his own driving school.
“I have always had a big interest in driving and road safety and hope to use that experience now in my new business,” he remarks.

A keen sportsman, he joined Marlfield Hurling Club and Clonmel Athletic Club during his time in the town, and, returning to his ‘community’ philosophy again, describes them as among the best decisions he has made.
“It got me involved in the community. When I was out running, people would stop me for a chat and discuss an issue with me. They might not want to come into the garda station but want to talk about something and then I can sort out a problem for them when I am not even working. I got to know so many people that way. It is my belief that if you want to police properly you have to live among the community and get involved with them,” he says.

As he retires to civilian life, Willie Leahy sends his thanks to all the colleagues he has worked with, to the people of Clonmel district he has served, and to the many organisations he has worked with and been involved with during his time in the force.