Bunclody gardaí to trial uniforms
GARDAÍ in Bunclody are to remain cool this summer as the station was one of three countrywide selected to pilot new garda summer uniforms. The uniform is a project of former Enniscorthy based Superintendent Liam White, who swapped the sunny south east for a job in Garda Headquarters last year. He unveiled the new uniform at the Garda Representative Association (GRA) Conference in Clayton Whites Hotel Wexford where he announced that gardaí in Bunclody would join members at Henry Street Garda Station in Limerick and Tallaght Garda Station in giving the new gear a go and providing feedback.
The uniform is a change from the traditional trousers, shirt and tie and sees a new shortsleeve polo shirt in it’s place which will supposedly allow gardaí to keep cooler in the warm summer months. There had been call for change on the matter and Supt White is hopeful that it will make life easier for members on the ground.
‘It’s front line personnel on the regular units that will be participating in the pilot, and it’s the feedback that we will get from them that will go into - hopefully - determining what is going to be delivered in the next uniform contract,’ he said. ‘ There’s definitely a lot of positive feedback, but like everything else it’s new. It’s a complete departure from what we have had over the years, or since the inception of An Garda Síochana.’
While the feedback seemed positive at the GRA conference, gardaí on the ground in Wexford seem less convinced. Feedback from the pilot will be compiled before a decision on whether to adapt the uniform for the rest of the country. Perhaps it’s a matter for the fashion police, rather than the gardaí!