IT WAS the end of an era on Thursday as the small Garda Station in the centre of Kiltealy village closed its doors for the final time.

The station, which has been manned on a part-time basis since the retirement of its last resident Garda, Denis O’Sullivan last year, was cleared out and locked up by Clonroche Garda Sergeant Tom Murphy.

The station first opened in 1977 and became a one-man station in later years after seeing a number of Gardai stationed in it. It is the only station in Wexford affected in this round of cuts and closures by Justice Minister Alan Shatter.

Signs on the windows inform the public that from January 31, the station is no longer in operation and Sgt. Murphy removed the cast iron Garda sign from the wall of the station along with any remaining documents or paperwork inside.

“The records from Killanne Garda Station came up here when that station closed so some of the documents date back to the early part of the last century,” said Sgt. Murphy, adding that the crimes recorded in those days were very different.

Local residents have been encouraged to sign up to community alert schemes and Kiltealy and its surrounding areas will now be policed by Gardai from neighbouring stations.