Cork welcomes eight new gardaí to forces across the city and county, as over 100 new Garda members were attested yesterday.

A total of 102 gardaí have been attested as sworn members, as part of a passing-out ceremony at the Garda College, Templemore. Three will be assigned to Cork City, and a further five are designated to the Cork North/West region.

The newly sworn members bring the total number of gardaí in the force to 14,396.

New members of An Garda Síochána commenced their Garda training in September 2021, during the Covid-19 pandemic and have undertaken a blend of on-line learning, on-site learning in the Garda College, and experiential learning in training Garda stations.

Speaking at the ceremony, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris commended the intake’s personal strength and dedication in pursuing a career in An Garda Síochána “at a critical and uncertain time”.

“The training is demanding under any normal circumstances. But undertaking the programme during the public health crisis will have made it all the more challenging for this intake of 102 trainees,” he said.

Of the group, 35% of gardaí newly attested were female and 16 new recruits were born outside the state — in New Zealand, Lithuania, Angola, Croatia, Poland, England, Northern Ireland, Guatemala, Saudi Arabia, and Scotland.

“In An Garda Síochána, we know that being more reflective of the diverse and inclusive society we serve will enhance our ability to provide an effective police service for all people,” said Mr Harris. “We have one of the highest levels of female police officers in Europe, but we recognise that there is still work to do.

Currently, 81 more gardaí are in training, across two intakes. A recent recruitment campaign attracted over 11,000 applications, with funding available to commence recruitment of up to 800 gardaí from the pool of applicants in 2022 and beyond.