Ardee man John Farrelly met with Pope Benedict in Cyprus recently, during the pontiff's visit to the island. The Garda Chief Superintendent is currently Senior Police Advisor in Cyprus and was involved in the peace talks between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.
Chief Supt farrelly and his team of police and military officers took care of security arrangements for the the pope during his three-day visit to Cyprus. He said it was a great honour for him to meet the pope, a memory he says he will cherish forever.
He is a son of Sean and Rosaleen Farrelly and has been a member of the Garda Siochana since 1976. He headed up the Garda Press Office and Garda Traffic Corps during his career in Ireland.
Chief Supt Farrelly grew up in the Old Post office in Ardee, along with his brothers, Michael and Seamus, and sisters Mairead, Siobhan and Elizabeth. He attended De La Salle school and pursued his fierce ambition to become a member of the Garda Siochana. He joined the Garda in 1976, aged 20.
He reached the rank of Chief Superintendent in 2004 and was spokesperson for an Garda Siochana from 1993 to 2004. During that time, his was a familiar voice on radio and known nationwide through his many appearances on television.
After his promotion in 2004 to Chief Superintendent, he was placed in charge of the Garda Traffic Bureau which is responsible for all aspects of road safety.
In 2007 he was invited to compete for the role of Deputy Senior Police Advisor with the United Nations Police in Cyprus. He was successful in his bid and took up the role in Cyrpus on 15th December 2007. He remained there for one year.
Apart from being the Deputy Police Chief on operations in Cyprus, he was also involved in the peace talks between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. "There are 18 members of the Gardai serving with the United Nations in Cyprus. They have played a very pivotal role in stabilising a very volatile situation there since 1993," he said.
When he completed his tour at the end of 2008, he returned to Ireland and took over the Garda Operational Support Unit which included areas such as Garda air support, underwater, dog and mounted units.
In the meantime, the post of senior police advisor in Cyprus was becoming vacant and, with the approval of Garda authorities, he applied for the position.
He successfully won the competition for the position and took up the job as senior police officer with the United Nations police in Cyprus.
He describes the pope's visit as the highlight of his time in Cyprus. The pope stayed in the papal nunciature, which is in the buffer zone which separates the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot areas and Chief Supt Farrelly and his team were responsible for the pope's safety while in residence there.
"It was a great honour to get close and personal with the pope during those three days and, prior to the pope leaving, he personally thanked me and my team for looking after him during his stay. It was great to meet the man in person and it is a memory I will cherish for the rest of my life," he said.
He returns to Ireland regularly to visit his family, including his daughters, Stephanie and Michelle.
He will continue his work in Cyprus until the end of the year.
SIC: TMC