Garda history talk in Terryglass

Kilbarron Terryglass Historical Society hosts Dr John Reynolds in Terryglass Hall at 8pm on Friday, September 11.

He will give a presentation on 'The meeting... Michael Collins and the foundation of the Civic Guard, 1922’, and it will cover the following subjects:

The meeting that founded An Garda Síochána; the role of Michael Collins in setting up the new police force; the 'Kildare Mutiny', which almost finished the force before it began; the consequences of these events and how they shaped the force for the following century.

Dr John Reynolds retired from An Garda Síochána in 2024 after 39 years’ service. He founded and ran the Garda College Museum on a voluntary basis from 2001 to 2020 and has a PhD in history from the University of Limerick.

He is the author of two books and numerous articles on policing and military history. He was historical advisor to the 2022 Garda centenary planning committee and ran temporary exhibitions throughout Ireland using a ‘portable museum’ of artefacts, documents and photographs.

He also initiated placing the Garda historic photo archives online for the first time using the dedicated website and received an ‘Excellence’ award from the Association of Garda Sergeants & Inspectors in 2023 for his work in promoting and raising awareness of Irish policing history and heritage.