LAST UPDATE | 9 Sep
EIGHT GARDAÍ HAVE been honoured with the special Scott medals for bravery at a ceremony in Dublin today.
The Scott Medal is the highest award that can be bestowed by the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána and is awarded for ‘most exceptional bravery and heroism involving the risk of life in the execution of duty’.
At Walter Scott House in Dublin 8 today, two gold medals, one silver medal and five bronze medals were given out. The medals have been funded by Colonel Walter Scott since 1924.
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee attended the ceremony, with Garda Commissioner Drew Harris handing out the awards.
“There is an inherent danger in your chosen profession. To protect others means that, sometimes, you must put yourself in harm’s way”, McEntee said at the ceremony.
“You must run towards danger, as others run from it, and you do so without any expectation of recognition. But that doesn’t mean that bravery and selflessness should go unrecognised.
Gold medals were awarded to Superintendent John Curtin, who was killed by paramilitaries in Tipperary in 1930, and Detective Sergeant Denis O’Brien, who was killed by the IRA in Dublin in 1942.
Garda Timothy McSweeney was awarded a silver medal. He suffered multiple stab wounds when he was left without backup while responding to a domestic violence incident in Douglas, Cork.
Despite his injuries, Garda McSweeney continued to struggle with the man for some time until he managed to get him onto the ground, drew his baton and restrained him.
“The Scott Medal has been awarded to a small group of Gardaí over the past hundred years as a way of recognising that spirit of dedication, service and, regrettably on occasion as we have heard today, the ultimate sacrifice,” McEntee said.
She also paid tribute to the Gardaí awarded posthumous medals. “Although many decades have passed since they lost their lives in the course of their duty, this honour is a stark reminder of the dangers still faced by Gardaí serving today.”
Garda Morgan Lahiffe received a bronze medal posthumously for his part in apprehending armed men during a raid of supermarket in a supermarket in Togher, Cork in 1971.
Garda Niamh Connaughton and Garda Warren Farrell received medals for their bravery in tackling armed men who had raided an Off License in Dublin in 2013. Garda Connaughton was violently assaulted when attempting to apprehend a man but with the help of Garda Farrell they managed to restrain him.
Gardaí from the Underwater Unit also received bronze medals. Garda Joseph Finnegan and Garda Kieran Flynn were part of a search and rescue mission that saved the lives of three people who got stuck in a sea cave near Lady’s Bay, Belderrig, Co Mayo.
They also recovered the bodies of two others. The operation required a high level of seamanship and bravery.
*An earlier version of this article had inaccurate details about one of the gardaí being awarded a medal today. This was corrected on 9 September.
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