‘I cannot say I was held back because I am female’: Women gardaí record their experiences

An Garda Síochána has learned its lessons regarding adversity faced by women members of the force because of their gender, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has said.

“Unacceptable behaviour and attitudes should never reoccur within An Garda Síochána again,” Mr Harris said, speaking at the launch of a new book, The Women of An Garda Síochána: A Reflection on their Journeys in Irish Policing, at Garda Headquarters on Wednesday.

Former garda commissioner, and the first and only woman to hold the post, Nóirín O’Sullivan also spoke at the event.

‘Important trait’

“This is our shared history, one that spans six decades, reflections anecdotes, stories and lived experiences and memories told with humility and humour,” Ms O’Sullivan said.

Hosting foreign students and Revenue’s rent a room relief

---

I’m of Jewish ancestry, studying at Trinity, where hostility has festered

---

Tony O’Reilly obituary: Ireland’s first business superstar whose spectacular fall led to bankruptcy

---

How Ireland drinks now: Teetotallers, wine-o’clockers and ex-drinkers

---

“That is a very important trait that we all share as well, the combination of humility and humour and one that does not shy away from highlighting some of the societal and cultural norms and challenges that had to be overcome to enable us to be where we are today, all of us.

“Nor does it shy away from the type of personal considerations and balances that women face every day in pursuing a professional career in An Garda Síochána, or elsewhere,” she added.

One of the first 12 women to join An Garda Síochána in 1959, Sarah O’Sullivan, was also in attendance at the event.

She said that she originally joined the force purely because it was “a job”.

She explained: “I was the fourth in a family of 10 and all my brothers, they were all going to national school so I mean, I had to get a job, so this came out and it was advertised and I applied.”

She said there were lots of challenges during her time in the Garda but two things that most affected her were the Dublin bombings and Stardust fire.

“I dealt with a lot of the families of the deceased people at the Stardust, and the bombings, they will never leave my mind ... I visited all of the people in the hospital until they were all discharged. Other than that I loved working on the street,” she said.

“We also had the visit of president Kennedy and all the visits of all the dignitaries, we had princess Grace, an awful lot of visitors were coming and then you had the soldiers killed at the Congo … that was a very traumatic time too.”

Joined in 1974

Catherine Cleary, who became a Garda in 1974, said that being a woman in An Garda Síochána was not something she thought a lot about.

“When I was in the technical bureau in the investigation section, I was the only woman there, and I have to say I loved it. I never encountered any difficulties at any stage, there would be a bit of banter.

“It would depend on your own attitude towards it. Some people might have been offended by it. Me, I laughed at it so I did not really encounter an awful lot,” she said.

“Maybe once or twice there were situations that I might have felt were unfair but I never subscribed to ‘woe is me because I am a female’ or ‘this is happening because I am a female’. I cannot say that I was ever held back because I am a female, quite the opposite.”