160 new Gardaí to tackle gangland violence in Dublin and Louth

201 probationary Gardaí graduated today from the Garda College in Templemore, including members from South Africa, Australia and the US.

160 new Gardaí are to be stationed in Dublin and Louth to tackle growing gangland violence.

Most will serve in Finglas, Blanchardstown and the inner city, where there are ongoing feuds.

25 new Gardaí are being sent to Drogheda, which has seen 70 individual incidents directly related to gangs there since last summer.

No new members are being sent to counties such as Cork, Kerry, Clare, Wexford, Tipperary, Offaly, Laois, Carlow, Wicklow, Kilkenny, Kildare, Longford or Westmeath.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris says deploying new Gardaí to gangland areas is deliberate.

"Very serious offences up to and including murder have happened and those are very tragic events and they are very serious as well," said Commissioner Harris.

"We have put a lot of resources into investigating them and into reassuring the community and preventing further attacks from happening as well.

"What we will see today at this graduation is 128 new members go to Dublin, a further 30 will go to Louth and these are the areas where we want to concentrate our resources."