Children of gardaí approached on football pitch and told their father is a 'scumbag'

Children of gardaí have been approached on a football pitch and told their father is a “scumbag” for policing a protest after being identified via social media, a Garda conference has heard.

High levels of concern were expressed at the annual conference of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors at an upsurge in publishing photographs of gardaí online and subsequent efforts to identify them, their family and their home address.

“We had a member come to us and his child was approached on a football field after the father was identified on social media,” Sergeant Pat Baldwin of Kilkenny branch told the conference.