An Garda Síochána has said a "significant" number of trainees are now aged over 35 since changes were made last year to the age limit for recruits.
In January 2024, the age limit for those wishing to apply to work in the gardaí was moved from 35 to 50 years.
One of the recent, older recruits is 44-year-old Sean Burke from Galway. He was working in the transport sector for two decades before he decided to enrol at Templemore.
His training began three months ago.
"I was in transport for 25 years and this is a career. I suppose what I was doing was just a job. And I wanted a career. I wanted to have achieved something. So, once the age restriction changed in January of 2024 I applied straight away, and I've made the change."
As well as the academic side of the job, there's fitness too to keep on top of, he said: "It's very, very different compared to what I used to do. You come in here, there's a lot of information being thrown at you. There's an academic side, there's a physical side."
He said friends and family were supportive of his decision to join the ranks, but there were a few who questioned it.
"It was generally positive, especially from family. They're very proud of what I'm doing. My partner was very positive. A couple of friends, maybe raised eyebrows, but you're going to need to be thick-skinned in the guards so that can prepare you for it.
"My classmates are fine. There's 25 of us in the classes, all ages, so, there's a massive breadth of experience."
He also thinks there are benefits of joining later in life: "I think we bring a lot of life experience. You'd be better with empathy and maybe understanding people's situations, versus if I'd come in here … straight after secondary school."
I've had lots of different feathers in my cap, says new recruit
Another new recruit is Marie Devine, who among other things, worked recently as a stunt performer.
"With stunts in particular, it was very much about mentality and precision, and you have a duty of care to look after you and your partner. So, I think it's going to lend into it a lot. It's definitely helped with the self-defence."
"I've done lots of different things in my time. I've had lots of different feathers in the cap and career choices, but I've always been drawn to working with people … There's a job in this for everybody, and I'm really excited about it," she said.
Superintendent Liam Geraghty said the older recruits "bring a wealth of experience" to the job.
"The first of them started here in the college last December … and it was certainly maybe 25-30% of that group were of that older age group.
"So, we are seeing an uptake there from people who were either doing other careers or were not in the country, who have come back and have certainly decided that the job is worth doing," he said.
