The Christmas shift at Anglesea Street
That was the sentiment of Garda Ellen Crowley who has shared what it’s like to work on Christmas Day for the 6th time in a row. Garda Crowley and her unit will be at their posts at Anglesea Street Garda Station this Sunday.
“People don't really call us usually on Christmas Day unless they urgently need us. You know, you'd assume everyone is trying to celebrate in some form with their families and trying to have a nice day, but if an occasion does arise that they need our assistance, then normally it's urgent or an emergency,” Garda Crowley told the Cork Independent.
Having spent the previous 5 years at Bandon Garda Station, this will be Garda Crowley’s first time working in the city on Christmas Day and she said Anglesea Street is looking very festive.
She said: “I enjoyed the country and I'm enjoying seeing the other side of it now in the city, I think it's great to see both worlds. The station has been all decorated and everything, it's lovely.
“They have all the Christmas trees up and they have loads of decorations. And they had Santa Claus for the last 2 weekends for people in the station that have children. There's great spirit around the place.”
Although at the time of writing, Garda Crowley was not sure where she would be detailed for the big day, she said she and her colleagues will try to enjoy the day and spend some time together.
“There will be a good lot of us working on the unit on Christmas Day so our sergeant will do up a detail, but I'm not sure what I'll be doing yet. Some will be detailed for the station, some will be detailed to the beat, or some will be detailed for cars,” explained Garda Crowley.
With many of her family also front line workers, celebrating Christmas a few days late is nothing new for Garda Crowley. However, before her duties required her to work during the holidays, Garda Crowley said a typical Christmas Day used to involve a frigid dip in the sea with her family as part of the Christmas morning swim in Killbrittain.
This year, once her 12 hour Christmas Day shift is done, Garda Crowley says she will go home in the evening and try to catch up with the festive fun.
“Obviously it's tough working the day but we just make the most of it and work around it,” she said.