The passing out ceremony for the Gardaí’s newest recruits took place at the Templemore training college in Tipperary recently. 99 students in total, 81 men and 18 women, passed their training and will now begin placements at Garda stations around the country as part of their BA in Applied Policing.

The 99 new recruits were selected from 25,000 applicants and are the first group to be attested as new Gardaí since 2009. Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald was in Templemore on Thursday to inspect the Guard of Honour. In her speech to the graduates, she said: “You are going to encounter the toughest members of our society, some without any conscience at all. You have chosen to put yourself in danger so others will feel safe and that is totally admirable. We are, in fact, standing on the cusp of a new era in policing in this country, and you’ll be the pioneers of that new era.”

This follows her announcement earlier this month of the recruitment of an extra 250 Gardaí to join the force in the coming months. Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan was also present to award the Commissioner’s Prize Medal to the student with the highest aggregate marks in academic subjects, and the Gary Sheehan Memorial Medal to the best all-round student.

Trainee Colm O’Cuiv spoke about his experience as an upcoming Garda, saying: “You’re going out with the power of a Guard. It’s a big deal and a very important job to have.” Eoin O’ Malley was one of the new recruits passing out on Thursday. He was also awarded the Gary Sheehan Memorial Medal.

Garda O’Malley had previously missed out on the medal in 2008. He said: “I was in the unfortunate position when recruitment was ceased, I applied in 2008 so I was quite disappointed at the time, I thought I missed out on it.

“I continued with my application and finally got here in September, so I was delighted.” Garda Commissioner Noirin O’Sullivan said: “I suppose that with all of us learning from the lessons of the past it’s very important that the stations that these people go to and the infrastructure is there to assist them and to help them learn as they start out on the journey of their career.”