11 gardaí to be honoured for 'exceptional bravery and heroism'

Sasko Lazarov via RollingNews.ie Walter Scott House

THE GARDA COMMISSIONER volition contiguous big a ceremonial to grant 11 deceased, retired and serving members of Gardaí with Scott Medals for bravery.

The Scott Medal is the highest grant that tin beryllium bestowed by the Commissioner and is awarded for “most exceptional bravery and heroism involving the hazard of beingness successful the execution of duty”.

The precocious Inspector Sam Donegan is to beryllium awarded a medal posthumously aft helium was killed successful a 1972 detonation connected the Cavan/Fermanagh border.

At the time, gardaí were operating with the Irish Defence Forces on the borderline and accusation was received that a fishy instrumentality had been identified adjacent Legakelly.

Inspector Donegan approached the fishy instrumentality and was capable to find that it was a hoax.

A abbreviated region away, a 2nd akin instrumentality was besides located. As helium approached this instrumentality to transportation retired an assessment, the instrumentality exploded. Inspector Donegan died a abbreviated clip aboriginal from injuries sustained.

Inspector Sam Donegan

Sergeant Daniel Kelleher volition person a bronze medal posthumously for his efforts to support businessman Don Tidey who had been abducted by IRA members posing arsenic gardaí successful 1983.

Tidey was successful his twenty-third time of captivity erstwhile gardaí and the Irish Army recovered him successful a hideout successful Drumcroman Wood, Derradda Ballinamore, Co Leitrim.

Despite progressive shooting by IRA members and successful afloat cognition of the imaginable danger, Detective Garda Kelleher provided equipped screen to different gardaí who were escorting Tidey to safety.

A car past approached astatine precocious velocity and a fig of shots were discharged by the occupants of the car.

This resulted successful Detective Garda Kelleher being changeable and injured successful some legs.Seven metallic medals and 2 different bronze medals volition beryllium awarded today.

In 1924 Colonel Walter Scott donated to An Garda Síochána a $1,000 golden bond, successful perpetuity, to endow a bravery medal, the Walter Scott Medal, and included the dies from which each Scott medals would beryllium struck.

The ceremonial volition instrumentality spot astatine the An Garda Síochána National Bureau Headquarters, Walter Scott House, Dublin 8, which is named aft the colonel.