A job as a garda brings something different every day and members could even appear on national television, potential recruits to the force have been advised.
An Garda Síochána announced a recruitment drive on Monday as it sought to increase its numbers to 15,000 members by the end of the year.
The campaign, which is being promoted at a cost of €345,000, aims to help meet a target of hiring 5,000 gardaí during the Government’s five-year term.
More than 11,100 people applied to join the force during two recruitment campaigns run last year, with similar numbers expected this year.
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The campaign is running under the slogan of “It’s a job worth doing”, a sense shared by a sample of the 14,600-strong Garda force who attend its launch.
“I just knew a nine-to-five wasn’t for me,” said Alan Cummins, who has spent nine of his 20 years in the force with the Garda Dog Unit.
He was originally attracted by the prospect of doing a job in which “every day is different” and, two decades later, he said this was true.
Cummins is responsible for two dogs: Bouncer, a springer spaniel working as a drugs, cash and firearms sniffer dog, and German shepherd Thor, which is a “general purpose” dog.
His role with the dogs unit meant “you do not know what the day is going to bring, you can’t beat [An Garda Síochána] for the variety”.
Gda Greg Freegrove said he joined after doing an office job in his 20s, which showed him the life he did not want. He is now a junior liaison officer working in Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, and has been making regular appearances on RTÉ’s Crime Call for nearly two decades.
He said he had not watched back any of his media appearances from the past decade. Those duties are “extremely different again to doing anything police-wise”, he said, advising applicants that “you might end up on TV, you never know”.
Gda Gerard O’Daly has been part of the water unit for the past 18 years. The unit largely focuses on diving and recovery efforts, assisting the force with investigations and searches for missing people. He said the job could, at times, be “tough”, but giving people closure regarding missing loved ones was “the most rewarding part”.
Taking part in the security for public events, such as the Bray Air Show, means the unit gets to see life from a different lens.
Ciara Larkin has been with the force for eight years and recently joined the Garda Mounted Unit. Sitting on her horse, Donnacha, the Co Wexford native said she had horses growing up and “always loved” them.
“I never thought I would actually be lucky enough to join the mounted unit, but thankfully I got in. I’m delighted. It’s a dream job,” she said. “We’re still like your regular garda, only we are on horseback.”
Recruits with a musical background are also being sought to join the Garda Band.
Overall, the flow of recruits into An Garda Síochána is important for the force, which is seeing “new challenges” in cyber crime and national security.
Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly said: “I always welcome more numbers into the organisation. I think where we are now we certainly have challenges around numbers.”
However, he said that recent influxes of probationer gardaí meant the numbers were “obviously going in the right direction, towards 15,000 and on to 16,500”.
