Balbriggan gardai rolled out the red carpet for a very special recruit last week, as they welcomed 14-year-old Duy Bolger from Oldtown into the fold.
Duy, who has complex medical needs, was grinning from ear to ear as he was made an honorary garda by Supt Tony Twomey, Sgt Fiona Savidge and the community policing team.
The induction day was organised through the Little Blue Heroes Foundation, which makes it possible for gardai to help seriously ill children.
Duy’s proud dad, Paul, told Dublin Gazette: “There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Duy is mainly full of smiles anyway but he had an absolute ball.
“It’s the little things in life he likes and it’s nice to create a story so Duy can reflect on the day or the week he has had.”
Honorary Garda Duy was greeted by Gda Breege Donnelly and Gda Mark McKenna and given a blue light escort up to the station.
After a tour of the premises, he got to talk to the garda car on patrol using his new unique shoulder number, Y1, before meeting Sheekah, the garda dog, and joining the mounted unit on board Donnacha the horse.
He was then sworn in and issued with an official uniform, as well as a cheque for €1,000 to help with his treatment ahead.
The teenager, described by his doting dad as “a bundle of joy”, is confined to a wheelchair and has epilepsy as well as cyclical vomiting syndrome, global developmental delay, microcephaly, cerebral palsy and athetoid quadriplegia.
Paul said: “We are fundraising for a new wheelchair-accessible car for his needs.
“Where we live we have no access to public transport. It’s hard to ask for help, but with the high costs of adapted vehicles, we simply can’t do it on our own.”
To donate to the wheelchair fund, see the GoFundMe page here.
