2 Johnnies approached An Garda Síochána about featuring on recruitment podcast

Ken Foxe

Comedy duo the 2 Johnnies approached An Garda Síochána about featuring on a recruitment podcast but never sought a cent from them.

The 2 Johnnies were paid €25,000 in taxpayer funds for a similar programme involving the Irish Prison Service this summer.

However, internal records from An Garda detail a completely different arrangement for their podcast on joining the police force earlier this year.

The podcast made contact directly saying they had a weekly audience reach of half a million people, a lot of whom “are young.”

An email said: “Over the years, we’ve received a number of emails from our young listeners, particularly young men, expressing interest in joining the guards.

“I was wondering if you’d have a young guard that would be available for an interview to come down … to chat about their work, a day in the life, and the training process.”

An internal garda message said they would facilitate the podcast once their recruitment competition was live.

They handpicked a number of new officers who had graduated within the past twelve months and were already featured on the Garda College Facebook page.

A message said: “[They] may be suitable for nomination for this interview.”

Ahead of the recording, the 2 Johnnies sent a lengthy list of “suggested talking points” for the podcast.

These included “what kind of abuse do you get on the street” and “how do you react when confronted with this abuse.”

Another said: “What’s the part of the job that you dread the most?”

An email also listed one question, which said: “When someone comes into the station, do you have to take every complaint seriously?”

Others said, “Do you like the new uniform?” and “Checkpoints – how do they work? What are you looking for out there?”

The two gardaí were also told there might be questions on “what’s the biggest crime you see happening at the moment?”

Another suggested speaking point said: “Have you ever been scared in the job?”

Asked about their participation, a garda spokesman said the listenership of the podcast was a good opportunity for them to reach a “certain demographic and explain to them why becoming a garda is a job worth doing.”