“The Garda Síochána will succeed, not by force of arms or numbers, but by their moral authority as servants of the people.”

Organized policing in Ireland began with the 1786 Dublin Police Act. The Irish Constabulary was established in 1822, and in 1867, it became the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC).

The Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP) was established in 1836 as a separate police force. These agencies were joined in 1919 by a parallel security force loyal to the provisional government, the Irish Republican Police.

With the establishment of the 26-county Irish Free State in 1922 the Royal Irish Constabulary was disbanded and the Civic Guard was established. The Civic Guard was later renamed An Garda Síochána, and in 1925, the Dublin Metropolitan Police merged with the new police force. The early years of the new state saw a gradual process of incorporating these various pre-existing forces into a single centralized, nationwide and civilian organization.

Garda

Its formal name is An Garda Síochána na hÉireann (pron: ahn gar-duh she-oh-kaw na na hair- inn). The name means “Guardians of the Peace of Ireland.” The force is commonly referred to as the Gardaí (pron: gar-dee). Individual officers are referred to as Garda.

A female officer was once officially referred to as a bangharda (Pron: ban-harda) or female Garda. This term was abolished in 1990 but is still occasionally used informally in place of the gender-neutral garda.

The Garda Síochána has responsibility for carrying out all policing duties in the Irish State. It also provides State security services and carries out criminal and traffic law enforcement.

Most uniformed members of An Garda Síochána do not carry firearms. It is a unique tradition of the service that standard policing should be carried out in both rural and urban areas by uniformed officers equipped only with a wooden baton (currently they carry expandable batons and pepper spray).

According to a recent government report, only approximately 3,700 (out of 14,700) members of the force are armed – this includes the Emergency Response Unit and Special Detective Unit, as well as most detectives. This practice of being unarmed has been supported by a quote from the first Garda Commissioner, Michael Joseph Staines (1885-1955), who said, “The Garda Síochána will succeed, not by force of arms or numbers, but by their moral authority as servants of the people.”

The badge of the Garda Síochána was designed by John Francis Maxwell (1880-1948), a technical schoolteacher of art in Blackrock, Co. Dublin. The badge is in the form of a Celtic cross.

On the centerpiece are the intertwined letters G.S. – the initials of the words, Garda Síochána. The badge carries the inscription, “Garda Síochána an hÉireann.” The badge was originally displayed only on the uniform cap; however, with the most recent uniform change the badge is now also displayed on the uniform.

Micheal Collins

Micheal Collins The Gardaí is under the command of the Garda Commissioner, who is appointed by the government. The first Garda Commissioner was Michael Staines, who was a Pro- Treaty member of Dáil Éireann. He held office for only eight months. He was succeeded by Eoin O’Duffy (in 1933 O’Duffy was fired by the Eamon de Valera after he supported a military coup). Eamon Broy was next appointed in 1933. He had greatly assisted the Irish Republican Army (IRA) during the Anglo Irish War, while serving as a spy for Michael Collins within the Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP).

Broy’s fame grew in the 1990s when he featured in the film Michael Collins, in which it was incorrectly suggested that he had been murdered by the British, when in reality he survived and afterward headed the Garda Síochána from 1933 until his retirement in 1938. Before O’Duffy and Broy left the Garda service they both made significant contributions to the organization of the new force.

The headquarters of the Garda is located in the Phoenix Park Depot, which was first occupied by the new Garda Síochána early in 1923. For a period the Depot was used as a combined headquarters and training center. A separate headquarters was then established at the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham.

In the early 1950s, the Commissioner and his staff returned to the Depot. As a result, it became necessary to provide either a new headquarters or a separate training center. A new Training Center, known as the Garda College, was established in 1963 in the old military barracks at Templemore, Co. Tipperary.

Official Irish Language Act

The Official Languages Act of 2003 requires the Irish public to have their official business conducted through the medium of either English or Irish (the two official languages of Ireland). Because of this all government officials are required to have a certain proficiency in Irish and all communications and forms are to be bi-lingual. For Garda Síochána, a proven proficiency in either Irish or English is required.

An Garda Síochána recognizes the right of citizens to conduct their business in Irish and is committed to the implementation of the Official Languages Act 2003. Applicants for Garda positions, who are not already fluent in Irish, are required to study and pass Irish as part of a module in the Garda College.

J. Michael Finn is the Ohio State Historian for the Ancient Order of Hibernians and Division Historian for the Patrick Pearse Division in Columbus, Ohio. He is past Chairman of the Catholic Record Society for the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio. He writes on Irish and Irish American history; Ohio history and Ohio Catholic history. You may contact him at [email protected].