‘With no local garda, a way of life has gone’

When Christy McCormack hung up his uniform for the last time it marked the end of an era for rural policing in Galbally, Co Limerick.

Christy, aged 54, a native of Limerick city, was the only remaining garda in the county to live and work in the place he served and settled in.

His solitary presence was a source of reassurance in the community which nestle in the foothills of the Galtees.