Nearly 200 new gardaí begin their careers

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Flanagan said: “It is an honour and a privilege for me to be here today on this very special occasion as these 198 new Garda members begin their careers in An Garda Siochána.

“I would like to thank each of them for choosing a career in An Garda Síochána. It is heartening to see people continuing to answer the call to public service and I wish them all a long and rewarding policing career in An Garda Síochána serving communities across the country.”

The 198 new members bring the number of new recruits who have attested as members of An Garda Síochána and who have been assigned to mainstream duties around the country to just under 2,000 since the Government reopened the College in September 2014.

In total, 800 new Garda Recruits will enter the Garda College during 2018 and the recent Garda competition which closed on 7 June attracted over 6,000 applicants.