Members of the Garda Siochana are furious over their portrayal in TV3’s new soap Red Rock.
Several Gardai believe the new series has portrayed them as lazy slackers who play video games all day at work.
One officer said: “I thought it was brutal – a terrible portrayal of gardai.”
Another garda agreed, saying: “It’s the stereotype of the public’s perception of the job – not realisitic!”
Not happy: Gardai are furious over how they have been portrayed in Red Rock | TV3
Gardai were particularly angry over a scene in Wednesday’s premiere episode that showed garda characters discussing house prices while a man lay dying on the ground.
The characters joked about property prices while delaying to call an ambulance.
Officers in the new drama seem to take endless coffee breaks and in one scene, two colleagues had to be ordered by a superior to stop playing video games while at work.
“The general consensus amongst members is that it’s rubbish. A lot of lads are giving out” one Garda to the Star newspaper.
Despite the controversy, The Garda Representative Association, which represents several thousand officers, declined to comment on the series.
Unrealistic: Officers believe the show feeds into stereotypes about the Gardai
TV3 bosses have dismissed any criticism over the protrayal of the Garda characters and insisted they are delighted with the ratings success of the show which saw 323,000 tune in to the first episode.
Director of content at TV3 Jeff Ford said “We are absolutely thrilled with the ratings premiere of Red Rock on TV3 and even more thrilled with the positive feedback it has received already.
“From cast to crew, we have the best in the business working on this and it gets better with every episode.”
