‘I was almost bowled over in agony’

SEAMUS KEARNS was a bit wary at first but he volunteered to be a guinea pig.

“There was a quick spray into my face. In the first millisecond nothing happened. Then, I was almost bowled over in agony. It hit the back of my eyes. It’s like very strong shampoo going into your eyes, but magnified a thousand times. It was stinging. My initial reaction was to curl up,” said the detective garda. When he tried to open his eyes, it made the pain worse.

Seamus, who is based in Sligo town, volunteered to be sprayed with so-called pepper spray, which is used by police forces throughout Europe and North America to deal with violent situations.