Carlow Gardaí are throwing open the doors of their main station to showcase what they do.
It’s to mark 100 years of An Garda Síochána; in Carlow three Sergeants and 28 guards arrived on the 28th of September 1922 at the railway station and marched to the barracks at Tullow Street which they then took over.
A month later there were stations in Bagenalstown and Tullow, then a year later in Ballon before the service expanded across the county.
This (Saturday) morning from 11:15am gardaí will again leave the railway station, following the route their predecessors marched 100 years ago.
Special commemoration medals have been struck to mark the force’s establishment and will be presented at midday today (Saturday) to serving and retired members.
Then later in the afternoon, personnel will be on hand to meet people, give a behind-the-scenes tour and more, with a special sensory-friendly hour from 4:30pm.
Speaking on KCLR, Carlow Supt Aidan Brennan said “We’ll have some events here in the station yard so we’ll be welcoming your listeners and inviting them to come along and meet the gardaí on duty and talk to us and see, as they say, some of the things we get up to!”
He adds that it’s an important event “Go back to 1922 the establishment of the State and the setting up the organs of State, our elected representatives, our courts and all of that and of course then setting our laws and then establishing a civic garda or police force to enforce those laws and it was a huge undertaking back then”.