'Great occasion' in Tipperary as over 100 new gardaí graduate from Templemore

Over a hundred new members of An Garda Síochána have officially graduated from the Garda College in Templemore, Co Tipperary. 

167 new recruits were attested as sworn members of the force at a ceremony which took place on Friday afternoon.

There was a celebratory atmosphere in the County Tipperary town as hundreds of families flocked to cheer on their graduating loved ones. 

There were also a large number of serving gardaí on site to welcome their new colleagues into the force. 

Of those graduating, 100 were male and 67 were female. 23 were born outside of Ireland, with some hailing from as far away as Australia and Brazil. 

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Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan and Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly were both in attendance to congratulate the new recruits.

Speaking to the media in advance of the ceremony, Commissioner Kelly welcomed the new members into the force.

He stated: “I am delighted to be here at the Garda College this morning. We have 167 new members being attested which is really welcome. 

“Then next week, we have approximately 220 people joining the college and this helps us with all the new members we want to get out visible on the frontline. 

“So I’m really looking forward to today. It’s a really, really great day not just for the members but for their families as well.”

These sentiments were echoed by Minister O’Callaghan, who started by thanking Commissioner Kelly for inviting him to the event. 

He continued: “I’m pleased with the way garda numbers are looking. Last year, 800 recruits came into Templemore and on Monday of next week, there’s going to be 215 new recruits starting here. 

“So the numbers are looking good, it’s a great occasion today for the new members of An Garda Síochána and for their families. 

“I wish them all the best in their future careers and I want to commend them for the public service that they’ve shown by making the decision to join An Garda Síochána.”

Minister O’Callaghan also spoke on plans to upgrade the facilities at Templemore and emphasised the Government’s commitment to the college. 

“Since 2023, over €150 million has been invested in Templemore. I think around €50 million or so [was invested] last year so listen, there’s a long-term commitment by this Government to Templemore. 

“Templemore will always be the primary place for the training of gardaí, where we have the passings out. 

“Look I am committed to it, Deputy [Ryan] O’Meara has repeatedly emphasised the importance of Templemore and we’re committed to ensuring that development goes on here and I see development happening here already.”

He added that the number of new recruits entering the college means that more investment will be needed going forward. 

“There will be ongoing investment and ongoing commitment to Templemore as we get more numbers coming into the force. 

“You see that next week, 215 recruits will be starting here. If we can get that consistently and we’ve four or five intakes a year, we’ll be talking about over 1000. 

“So this is very much going to be an extremely busy location for training new gardaí.” 

The 167 new recruits will now take on operational responsibilities in various locations across the country. 

104 of these have been allocated to Dublin, whilst 31 have been allocated to the Eastern Region, 21 to the Southern Region and 11 to the North Western Region. 

Just one of these new members has been allocated to Co Tipperary and it is understood that they will be stationed in Clonmel.

The 167 newly sworn gardaí were recruited as part of the 2024/25 recruitment campaigns. Their graduation means that just under 1800 people have joined the force since 2022.