Two Waterford Gardaí have shared their experiences of what life is like on patrol in the new season of a popular RTÉ show.
On the Beat is a docuseries that delves into the work of An Garda Síochána across Ireland. It first hit screens in September 2024, and is back for a new four-part series that was filmed over the past six months. The first episode premiered on Monday 5 January.
It goes behind the front desks, inside the control centres, and on the beat with Gardaí from Waterford, Limerick and Monaghan, to give the public an insight into policing across urban and rural areas of Ireland.
Episode one saw Garda Conor Gallagher and Garda Ciara Maher from Waterford Garda Station deal with a public order incident in a housing estate while out on patrol in the city. A woman had called for their assistance from a group of young people who were reportedly throwing stones and fireworks at her house.
The Gardaí highlighted the difficulty faced by officers when dealing with incidents involving young people, as most of those involved happened to be teenagers. During the episode, Garda Maher said: “It’s a difficult one, because we know we’re dealing with juveniles. We can’t chase kids. We’re not going to run out into ditches chasing kids. If something happens, then it falls back on us.”
Garda Gallagher added: “It’s a tough one, where we’ve no one identified. You have no indication of who it was. You can’t just stop a young person on the street, start questioning him, and he might have nothing to do with it. He might just be standing there watching what’s going on.”
The series airs every Monday at 9:35pm on RTÉ One.
Speaking about On the Beat, a Garda Spokesperson said: “With unprecedented access, the series shows the real challenges, real teamwork and real moments that shape policing across Ireland.”
Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme
Robyn Power
