TRIBUTE TO OUR HEROIC GARDAI KILLED ON DUTY
Sacrifice of brave officers remembered at ceremony
FAMILIES and colleagues gathered to pay tribute to heroic gardai who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty at the force’s annual memorial day.
Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan honoured the 88 members who died doing their job at an event in Dublin Castle yesterday.
Mr Flanagan read the names on the roll of honour at Dubhlinn Gardens, with special mention made to the two most recent fallen members –Adrian Donohoe and Tony Golden.
Det Gda Donohoe was shot dead in Co Louth in January 2013 during an armed robbery at a credit union.
Gda Golden was also gunned down in the county in October 2015 while protecting a vulnerable young woman who was a victim of domestic abuse.
Mr Flanagan said: “Both Adrian Donohue and Tony Golden left behind wives and children, families and friends, whose grief we simply cannot hope to comprehend.
“We recognise also the impact of their deaths on the gardai in the Louth division in particular who lost their valued colleagues in the most tragic way.
“And while there are no words of mine that could possibly assuage the grief of those who suffer so great a loss, let me say this. These two men were heroes.”
Mr Flanagan referenced his personal experience with the death of Gda Michael Clerkin in 1976 while following a tip-off over a plot to kidnap and kill the minister’s late father.
A Gold Scott medal was awarded posthumously to Gda Clerkin at a ceremony last December.
An Garda Siochana Memorial Garden honours the members of the force who were killed in service, with their names inscribed in stone within its surrounds.
Mr Flanagan said: “We remember with pride the courage of those who sacrificed so much so that we may go about our daily lives without fear.
“In the proud tradition of An Garda Siochana, they committed their lives to public service, and made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country.”
We remember with pride the courage of those who sacrificed so much
JUSTICE MINISTER CHARLIE FLANAGAN DUBLIN YESTERDAY
IT was poignant to see brave gardai who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty being remembered yesterday.
The lives of 88 officers were celebrated in a ceremony at Dubhlinn Gardens.
Among those at the Dublin Castle event was Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan.
Officers killed while on duty included Adrian Donohoe and Tony Golden and all the names are inscribed on a stone sculpture.
Gardai and other emergency workers put their lives on the line every day to protect us.
It was only right the courage of those 88 officers was marked in this way.