Young Roscommon woman lines out with Garda colleagues before lining out with her team in Poland
Kayleigh Shine was among 206 new members of An Garda Síochána sworn in at Templemore.
A young County Roscommon woman was among 206 new members of An Garda Síochána sworn in at Templemore earlier today, Friday.
Kayleigh Shine from Drum in South Roscommon plays football for Athlone Town and will be part of the team in the Women’s Champions League tie in Poland, travelling out on Saturday morning to play the second round.
Balancing it all will be a tough ask for Garda Shine, but she is determined to make it work.
More than 15 nationalities were represented among 206 new members of An Garda Síochána sworn in at Templemore, the single largest intake since 2019.
The new graduating class puts current numbers at 14,733 sworn gardaí, 3,683 Garda staff, 304 Garda reserves and 604 Garda trainees.
The new intake comprises 142 men and 64 women, with 24 born outside Ireland from countries including Brazil, Nigeria, Poland, Canada, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Among them was 23-year-old Kayleigh who completed her secondary education at Athlone Community College and played soccer for Bealnamulla Utd at underage level.
“In 2018, I joined Athlone Town,” Kayleigh explained. “Just before Covid I got my first international cap at U-17 level. Last year with Athlone we won the League of Ireland and the FAI Cup, and we also took part in the Champions League, and progressed into the Europa Cup.” Last year she was on the PFA Ireland Team Of The Year for the centre back position.
Kayleigh said previously that it was her cousin who inspired her to join the force.
"I've always wanted to become a Garda from a young age, and I have a family member, my cousin, who is a detective sergeant," she said. "She always used to tell me stories about the job. One Christmas, she gave me a Garda notebook."
She joked that she used it to write down random car registrations.
