Garda Síochána College
Garda Síochána College is the education and training college for Ireland’s police service, the Garda Síochána. It is at McCan Barracks in Templemore, County Tipperary, and has been there since 1964. Training used to be at Garda Headquarters in Phoenix Park, Dublin. When it moved, it was first called the Garda Training Centre.
In 1992 the college was designated an Institute of Higher Education. Today it offers higher education courses, including a BA in Applied Policing awarded by the University of Limerick, and a BA in Police Management for senior officers. There are two main study routes, both accredited by the Higher Education and Training Awards Council: a National Diploma in Police Studies (two years) and other degree options, plus specialist courses for serving officers.
The campus is well equipped. It has three lecture theatres, a library with more than 12,000 books, a Scenes of Crime room, a Mock Garda Station and court, a language laboratory, and a modern Education Block. Facilities for students include a social club, a swimming pool, a gym, an indoor sports hall, squash courts, a handball alley, and large sports fields for Gaelic games, soccer and rugby, plus a nine-hole golf course and floodlit tennis courts.
Recruitment to join the Garda starts with an online application via the Public Appointments Service. The stages are: Stage I Aptitude Test (Skills/Experience Questionnaire, Analytical Reasoning, Job Simulation); Stage II Interview (Interview, Report Writing, Verbal Evaluation); background checks, medical exam, and a Physical Competence Test. If successful, candidates are offered a place in the Garda Síochána.
The college is located off the N62 in Templemore, with links to the M7 and M8 motorways. The R433 and R501 roads connect Templemore to surrounding areas. Templemore railway station on the Dublin–Cork line is about 2 km from the college, with regular trains to Dublin, Thurles, Cork and Limerick.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 14:59 (CET).