"I loved it there!" Kay Furey on retiring from clerical duties at Longford Garda Station
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Kay Furey, who worked as a clerical officer at Longford Garda Station for twenty years, recently celebrated her retirement at the Percy French Hotel.
It was a double celebration for Strokestown’s Kay Furey, who was joined by friends and colleagues in the Percy French Hotel to mark both her 70th birthday and her retirement from clerical duties with Longford Garda Station’s Detective Unit. The full gallery of photos from the night can be viewed here.
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Kay’s departure will bring to an end over two decades of service as a clerical officer.
Her journey with An Garda Síochána began following a career with the Department of Agriculture in Roscommon.
She explains, “It was so different to my previous job where I was dealing with the public a lot, which was something I loved.”
“In the station, it’s the Gardaí who deal with the public so while it was different to what I was used to, the work was so interesting and a job I absolutely loved.”
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“As a clerical officer for the Detective Unit, you’d be kept busy,” she adds with a laugh.
“I also made many great friendships in Longford Garda Station. Once you become friends with them, they're friends for life.”
“They're just lovely people. It was a great place to work.”
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Looking back on her time with An Garda Síochána, Kay feels fortunate to have enjoyed a career she loved.
She explains, “It's compulsory retirement but I was very lucky in that I got the extra five years when that came into law.”
“Some of my friends had to retire at 65, then they got another year because they could job share but I was very lucky that I got those extra few years. I'm in perfect health too so I can enjoy my retirement.”
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Directly after retiring, Kay wasted no time in taking on a new role.
“I’m volunteering in the St Vincent DePaul charity shop in Carrick-on-Shannon,” she says. “I love being with people so it suits me perfectly.”
She adds, “I will definitely miss Longford Garda Station. I want to thank all my workmates, the Gardaí, detectives, inspectors, sergeants and superintendents for the truly wonderful years I worked there.”