Breaking barriers: 'I get stopped all the time, they've never seen a black garda before'

Emmanuel Samuel is one of a small number of black gardaí. The lack of gardaí from ethnic minorities is a reality that An Garda Síochána wants to change as part ofits current recruitment drive, writes Cormac O’Keeffe

Garda Emmanuel Samuel: ‘In Wicklow, about 98% of the time, the experience is positive. I can tell the difference if someone is just curious or if they are negative.’

On his first day as a garda, Emmanuel Samuel literally stopped pedestrians and motorists in their tracks.

“I still remember the very first interaction on patrol in Wicklow town,” he says.