Gardaí train with UK police on pursuit tactics, aim for self-sufficiency by 2026

Gardaí in Ireland have begun specialist training with British police to learn how to conduct dangerous vehicle pursuits, a development emerging in the wake of a tragedy that left five teenagers dead on the M9 motorway. The initiative aims to establish a train-the-trainer model, with the goal of having Garda instructors ready to teach pursuit tactics to operational officers before the end of 2026.

The training program follows a head-on collision on the M9 near Moone, Co. Kildare, on August 16, 2026. Five teenage boys were killed when the BMW they were in drove on the wrong side of the motorway and collided with another vehicle. The victims were identified as Joe Carthy and Alex McCarthy, both 17, from Athy and Carlow respectively; Jack Kennedy, 17, from Carlow; Kamil Pustkowski, 17, from Limerick; and Jeremy O'Brien, 18. Three women and a seven-year-old boy from the second car were seriously injured.

The crash has intensified scrutiny over the fact that An Garda Síochána has never had a formal pursuit training program, a gap that has left officers and supervisors navigating risky situations without standardised tactics or legal protection. According to a Gardaí spokesperson,...