The 100th anniversary of the Irish Civic Guard taking up duty in Cork city is being commemorated with a week-long series of events.
Highlights include the presentation of commemorative medals and certificates to serving and retired members of the force, exhibitions of Garda memorabilia at the city's ten libraries, and a presentation of sporting awards to the 22 elite athletes who serve or have served in the Cork City Garda Division.
The high point of the celebratory events will be Wednesday's re-enactment of the deployment by ship of the first cohort of 60 Civic Guards, with the public invited to come along and watch.
Launching the event today, Superintendent John Deasy spoke of the men who arrived into Cork city by boat from Dublin to take up their policing duties in the city and county on 9 November 1922.
"Described as a well set-up, drilled, body of men, they were graduates of the force's new training programme", Superintendent Deasy told the gathering.
"History suggests that of all the population centres to which the police graduates were despatched at the time, none were more fraught with danger than the rebel city and county of Cork".
On Wednesday, a group of ten local gardaí will arrived to Kennedy Quay at 3pm aboard the LÉ James Joyce, and then parade alongside the Garda Band, Garda Ceremonial Unit, Garda Mounted Unit, local Gardaí and Garda staff, and retired members of the force, to the site of their former headquarters at Union Quay, where the first of two plaques will be unveiled.
The parade will then march to Anglesea Street Station where a plaque will be unveiled commemorating the six gardaí who have lost their lives in the line of duty in the city.
Superintendent John Deasy said on this "our centenary celebration week for gardaí in Cork, it is an important time for reflection on the past, as well as considering the future challenges of modern policing".
