Police life, by definition, is unpredictable. But gardaí at Tullamore, Co Offaly, know they are going to have a busy day - and evening - tomorrow.
Their new district headquarters, a spacious modern building in the centre of the town, will be officially opened by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, who lives in Tullamore. The Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, and local representatives will also be present.
Later in the evening, an illustrated history of the Garda in the Tullamore district, From Civic Guards to Garda Síochána, will be launched at a function in the town's Dew Heritage Centre. The editor and part author is former Det Sgt Michael Dalton, a Roscommon man, who served in the Tullamore district from 1964 until his retirement two years ago.
All of Michael's Tullamore service had been in the old station which was built in the 1930s. "We knew that the old building was going to be replaced. I thought it was important to mark the ending of the old era and the idea of the book seemed appropriate," he says.
As soon as Michael retired he set about researching the force's history and commissioning material. The Tullamore Garda district comprises a 60-mile stretch across the midlands from the Shannon to Co Kildare and has seen its share of dramatic events and colourful characters over the decades. It makes for fascinating reading.
There is a chapter on the famous Kirwan murder case of the 1940s which provided the real-life background for Brendan Behan's play The Quare Fella. Another chapter by retired Det Supt John W. Reynolds chronicles the land troubles of the 1950s and the brief rise of the agrarian "Lia Fáil" movement. Tullamore Supt Peter Wheeler contributes a chapter on the historic background of Irish policing.
Former Det Sgt Dalton collected a vast number of photographs and the book is liberally illustrated with these. Among the most interesting is a poteen raiding party with captured still and worm from the 1920s. Illicit distilling was not confined, as the popular imagination has it, to the western seaboard.
The book includes a complete list of all men (and, latterly, women) who have served in the Tullamore district since the founding of the Garda Síochána in 1922. More than 700 names are listed, including quite a few who went on to very senior rank.
There are interesting historic links and associations. For instance, one of the early superintendents of the 1920s was P.F. Bracken, a brother of the celebrated Brendan Bracken, confidant of Winston Churchill and founder of the Financial Times.
From Civic Guards to Garda Síochána will be launched by Assistant Commissioner Nacie Rice who is in charge of the Midland Region.
C.B.