Garda Emma Henebery

Did you go straight in after school?

No, so I actually went to college in the University of Limerick and then I went on to do a master's degree and the Guards was always in my mind.

So I took that time to apply and thankfully I was successful.

So that's almost 20 years ago now, well 18 now.

And maybe eight, nine years ago, I applied for the arm support unit.

And that's where I am based today.

OK, so what was the attraction of the arm support unit?

So the arm support unit is it's a very professional unit with high training and it's highly skilled.

So that was the attraction.

And I thought it would be a great challenge for me.

So I applied.

Yeah, back in 2017, it involved a rigorous recruitment campaign and training before I was deemed successful to enter the unit.

So, yeah, that's my journey.

Yeah, so the armed support unit, it's a specialist firearms unit that's tactically trained.

And we're there to support frontline guardee and other departments in the guards that require an armed presence unit.

So that could be responding to a spontaneous incident where weapons have been produced and capabilities of the frontline guardie can't manage that threat.

And then there is the request for us that would be from other various departments in the Guards that need an armed presence, whether it be for a forced entry into a house or

Or there could be a threat of a firearm involved in a search.

It's always very high adrenaline stuff that you're doing, is it?

Yeah, there is quite a bit of adrenaline involved, but we undergo extreme training throughout the year.