It was a special day for 31 honorary gardaí, who graduated at a special ceremony this afternoon.
The Little Blue Heroes were sworn in, in front of family and friends at the Garda College in Templemore.
The Little Blue Heroes Foundation is a not-for-profit charity operated entirely by volunteers made up of garda members, past and present, alongside community groups.
Its mission is to provide practical and financial support to families of children who have serious illnesses, whilst making dreams come true and making these young people honorary gardaí.
There are now 677 Little Blue Heroes across Ireland.
Inspector Alan Roughneen, who is treasurer of the charity, said it is all about creating happy memories for the young people and their families.
"Our mission is twofold, on the one hand we provide practical and financial support for families of children who are seriously ill children" said Inspector Roughneen.
"But it's also about making happy memories and with the help of the Garda Commissioner and all the college staff here, we are able to create to those sort of memories," he said.
Shane Cullen, 8, was one of 31 honorary gardaí who were sworn in today. For this family, it marked a significant milestone.
"Shane was diagnosed with Burkitt's Lymphoma on the 27th of September last year, so this is kind of an end of the chapter for us as a family," explained his father Paul, who is also a member of the gardaí.
"We had a tough year but this is great," he added.
For the young people's families, it's a very proud day. Eric Dunne, whose son Connell became an honourable garda, described the day as an "amazing experience".
"It's something money can't buy and it's great for kids. He's always loved dressing up as a guard so this has been very special," he said.
Sinéad Roche, whose son Jamie became an honorary garda, said she struggled to put into words how special it is.
"The effort is just that everyone has gone to, to make us, the whole family, feel so welcome. It's just been an amazing day, really, really special," she said.
Assistant Commissioner of the Southern Region Eileen Foster said the new recruits are now part of the garda family.
"It's really enjoyable for the families. You can see how proud they are for their children to be honorary members of the guards, and they are now all part of the garda family," she said.
Six-year-old Ciarán Bracken said the best thing about being a garda was the motorbikes, while Connell Dunne said he was looking forward to the ice-cream after the formalities.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
