Jeremiah Burke (51) said he wanted to join the gardai when he was younger but missed the opportunity.
He said he recognises it is going to be a “tough job”, but said: “You’re never too old.
“If you’re able, why not? Give it a go. I’d say to anybody out there, if you want to go for it – go for it.”
He added: “I’ve done it, anyone can do it.”
Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly (centre) with graduating gardai (left to right) Jeremiah Bourke, Amy Ni Riada, Kristina Courtney and Adam O’Rourke at Templemore Garda College, Co Tipperary (Cillian Sherlock/PA)
Mr Burke said he had always had hope that he could become a garda, so re-applied when the recruiting age limit increased from 35 to 50 at the start of last year.
He was within that age range when he applied, having previously worked in retail.
He added: “I didn’t miss the bus time – and here I am attesting today at a later stage.”
He said it was “not easy” and “a bit daunting” to go through the training alongside younger recruit, but said he was supported by his wife and two children as well as all those at the College.
Garda Amy Ni Riada (Cillian Sherlock/PA)
He was one of 194 gardai attesting from the Templemore Garda College in Co Tipperary on Friday.
Among them, Garda Amy Ni Riada was eager to get “stuck in” after trading in a career in the media to join An Garda Siochana.
The former RTE journalist, from Castleisland in Co Kerry, said she developed a taste for working in high-pressure environments and a role with variety.
She was inspired to join the gardai seeing the response to the November 2023 riots in Dublin.
Garda Jeremiah Burke, 51, graduated from the Garda College on Friday (Cillian Sherlock/PA)
Today’s News in 90 Seconds – Friday, November 14
Ms Ni Riada, who will be stationed in Midleton, Co Cork, also said being in An Garda Siochana was perfect” for her desire to work with the most vulnerable people in society, having previously reported on climate change, social issues and violence against women in east Africa.
They were among 164 new gardai and 17 garda reserves attesting from the Garda College in Templemore on Friday.
It is the largest single attestation of new gardai since 2019 and the college will also see its largest class of recruits in a decade enter next week.
Amy Ni Riada and Kristina Courtney (Cillian Sherlock/PA)
Garda Kristina Courtney also left a career in communications and media production to join the gardai.
She said she was inspired to join after getting an insight into the operations of An Garda Siochana by working on RTE’s Crimecall programme.
Part of her role involved making actors “look like the bad guys”.
Asked how she felt about dealing with real bad guys, she replied: “I’m up for the challenge.”
Dubliner Adam O’Rourke said he joined An Garda Siochana because he wanted a career where he could help people and challenge himself.
Garda O’Rourke, from Walkinston, previously served with the Defence Forces in Lebanon.
Of the 194 attesting on Friday, 137 are men and 57 are women and the new probationers will be assigned to divisions across the country by the Garda Commissioner.
Of the new gardai, 87 will be deployed across the Dublin Metropolitan Region, with 47 going to the Southern Region, 39 to the Eastern Region and 21 to North Western Region.