Two of Ireland’s most special Gardai got the surprise of their young lives when they inspected Shannon Airport’s VIP room today.

Garda Ceejay McArdle and Garda Jordan Perez, a duo with their own heroic stories, got an insight into how it’s possible to meet just about anyone - including their hero, Munster and Ireland rugby legend CJ Stander at the airport.

Ceejay, from Castleblaney, Co. Monaghan and Jordan, from nearby Sixmilebridge, were deployed to Shannon to assist in security checks for the day but the duo – Ceejay aged just four and Jordan aged eight – got the surprise of their lives when they checked the VIP room and found they had to run the rule over none other than the giant of Irish and world rugby.

The special security officers were detailed to the airport as part of an ongoing community initiative by the Garda Relations Bureau.

Ceejay, who is undergoing intense treatment for leukaemia, last year became an Garda Siochana’ s youngest ever member and this weekend Jordan, who is wheelchair bound with muscular dystrophy, joined him on the very special beat courtesy of Chief Supt John Kerin and Supt Brendan McDonagh.