Gardaí at the heart of the community, even at Christmas time
Pictured, from left, Gda Lorraine Cass, Gda Ciara Heffernan and Gda Lorraine O'Dwyer.
Christmas time is the one period of the year that’s all about family and friends.
It’s the season of goodwill and more often than not people are in good form and looking forward to meeting up to socialise in a way that’s just a bit more special than any other time of the year.
However, it’s often easy to forget that for some people Christmas doesn’t mean time off work to relax and unwind. For some workers, especially those in the emergency services, Christmas is a time when, as the saying goes, ‘duty calls’ and they have to be ready to answer the call.
met up with four members of the Gardaí in Waterford Garda Station to discuss what it’s like being on duty over the festive period and, in particular, on Christmas Day.
Garda Lorraine Cass, Garda Ciara Heffernan, Garda Lorraine O’Dwyer and Sergeant Deirdre O’Neill spoke of their own personal memories of Christmas but also what it means to serve the community over the festive period.
For Garda Cass, Christmas is now extra special because she has small children and the excitement they bring is something every parent could empathise with.
“I like Christmas now because I have two small kids, but before that maybe not as much,” she said. “My mam passed a couple of years ago, so I never really liked Christmas, but now the kids have brought a new lease of life to it.
“It’s nice to go see Santa and to bring them around, it’s a bit special now.”
From a personal perspective, she said her fondest childhood memory was going to visit Santa and all the family being together.
“Going to see Santa, I suppose that was always good and family getting together, I suppose that was always a bit special,” she said. Garda Cass, who is an identical twin, also has identical twin brothers, said being with family at Christmas is always good.
“Everyone getting together at Christmas is great because I suppose it was always the one time of the year when everyone is at home. My twin sister comes home, she lives in England and she has three kids too, so there are a good few grandkids now in the last while, so that’s good.”
Garda Ciara Heffernan said the build-up to Christmas is something she still likes.
“I like the build-up to Christmas, the atmosphere around town, you know, when you’re doing your Christmas shopping and the Christmas carols that would be going on and that kind of stuff,” she said. “I suppose my number one thing on Christmas Day is Christmas dinner. Just being around family and meeting up and even just seeing your extended family that you might not meet that often."
Garda Heffernan went on to comment: “My sister would have been abroad a bit when she was younger so it’s nice that she’s back now and she has a new little baby so I’ve a little Godson coming into this Christmas so that’s good. That makes things a bit lighter and more fun. He’s only three months old and the fact that he’s there will bring a bit more light.”
Her personal favourite memories of Christmas were “getting up early and opening the presents under the tree and little home videos being taken”.
Her sentiments were shared by Garda Lorraine O’Dwyer, who said the lead-up to Christmas and the fact people are home, sometimes from abroad, makes it a special time of the year.
“You get to go out and there’s always good socialising to be done around Christmas and stuff like that,” said Garda O’Dwyer.
“You’re meeting up with people that you might not have seen since last Christmas and that’s a nice part of it. Also Christmas dinner is a highlight.
"I have no kids myself, but I have a niece and nephew, twins as well, they’re three now, so they’re good craic and they bring a bit more fun to Christmas and less socialising."
With regard to her own childhood memories of the festive period, she said: “Just sitting around at home with family and going down in the morning time and opening your presents. I have three sisters, so the four of us would be kind of sitting around and wrecking the place with wrapping paper and stuff and that was always good fun – and waking up at the crack of dawn.”
For many Gardaí, Christmas is a time when work beckons, however, as Sergeant O’Neill pointed out, being on duty at Christmas can give people a sense of perspective.
“I think it gives you perspective on other people because not everyone is as fortunate as us,” she said. “Some of the calls you’re going to is because people need assistance."
They all agreed that calling to someone’s house on Christmas Day is difficult because they don’t want to intrude yet at the same time situations have to be dealt with professionally.
“I think it’s hard going to someone’s house on Christmas Day, and we obviously have to go to the call once we get it, but you just feel, well, you don’t want to be intruding on families on Christmas Day but you have to obviously deal with whatever the situation is,” said Garda O’Dwyer. “It’s sad for kids you know because when you go in they’re like ‘why are the guards here on Christmas Day?’. That can be tough but it has to be done.”
The four Gardaí also highlighted that a lot of the calls they receive on Christmas Day are related to domestic situations and incidents.
“Going to calls on Christmas Day can also highlight the vulnerabilities of people as well,” said Garda Heffernan. “Just the fact that they mightn’t have anyone to call to them, in particular on that day, you’d really feel it for the person and you might spend a little bit more time with them then in relation to that. To keep them company a bit longer.”
The most satisfying thing about being on duty at Christmas time. For Garda O’Dwyer, that is calling to people who might not have family around.
“Calling to the elderly and things like that,” she said. “Meals on Wheels and the community policing. We would be calling anyway so it kind of gives us a bigger scope to see who’s alone and who’s not, or who needs a bit of support and time.” Garda Heffernan agreed and added that a lot of people they call to like having a chat at the door.
Sergeant O’Neill said calling to people on Christmas Day – especially those who might be vulnerable – is not too big an ask.
“It’s a very little ask really and that’s one of the things – even though when you’re working on Christmas Day you might be feeling a bit sorry for yourself – that’s a really positive thing to do because it costs you nothing, only a bit of time and a bit of patience,” she said.
“You see all sides of it on Christmas Day because you’re sold all these fluffy, lovely ads but real life is not like that,” she added.
She also said that escorting Santa to various locations, including schools, is very special.
“When you’re asked to escort Santa, that is really special. You’re all kids when you're doing that and everyone is there,” she said.
Meanwhile, Garda Cass said that while being on duty on Christmas Day is, in many ways, like any other day at work, there are obviously aspects to it that are different.
“It’s like a normal day in some regards and it’s just Christmas attached to it,” she said.
However, she added that within the unit in the station efforts are made to make Christmas Day special for those who are on duty.
“I think as a unit you make the most of it because you’re all in it together,” she said.
“One year we did the breakfast, and that was a nice little get together because everyone was there. People do make an effort – there is a Christmas tree put up here and the decorations are out, and people do try to make it Christmasy as well.”
Among the activities that all of the Gardaí agreed were extra special in the run-up to Christmas were school visits.
“We do school visits anyway throughout the year, but it’s a bit more special at Christmas and you have the interaction with the kids around Santa and what they’re getting, and it builds the excitement,” said Garda O’Dwyer. “Sometimes it’s hard to calm them down, and they get really excited talking about that.”
Garda Heffernan added that one aspect of being on duty at Christmas that is particularly rewarding is the warmth of the public who are out about the town.
“It’s always nice when you go down the town, if you’re on the beat and families are down there and people are happy to see you and they’re waving at you and talking to you and things like that are great,” she said. “Christmas time is a little bit more special.”
Sergeant O’Neill added that the public are appreciative of the emergency services personnel who are on duty at Christmas.
“I think there is an appreciation of emergency services at Christmas time from the general public and for people working around that time,” she said. “They are thankful that there are people working and looking out for them.”
