LAST UPDATE | 16 Sep 2023

PRESIDENT MICHAEL D Higgins laid a wreath at a commemoration service this afternoon in remembrance of all Garda members and staff who have lost their lives in service over the last 101 years.

The president praised the sacrifices made by those who died in the service and the sacrifices made by their family members, too. 

The service, which took place at 3:30pm today, was held in front of the refurbished Garda Monument of Remembrance at Garda Headquarters in the Phoenix Park.

The refurbished monument features the names of the more than 1,800 Garda personnel who have died whilst in service over the last century.

Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, Minister of State James Browne, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris, and family members and colleagues of those Gardaí who have lost their lives since the establishment of An Garda Síochána were all in attendance. 

President Higgins praised the history and the contributions made by Gardaí and emergency service staff in his speech this afternoon. 

“As a society, we owe a particular debt of gratitude to all those who serve in An Garda Síochána, and in each of our emergency services,” he said. 

The work of An Garda Síochána cannot be easily summed up, Higgins declared. 

The President made particular reference to those workers who lost their lives while treating people during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It calls to memory too those who lost their lives while rescuing others from our waters or assisting the public suffering, distressed and displaced in times of flooding, or again during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the president said.

Higgins added that the loss of a garda represents a loss for a whole community.

“It is a loss that goes beyond that of their immediate family and reaches deep into the communities in which they have served.”

While acknowledging the “complex” history of the Gardaí over the last 101 years, Higgins praised the organisation it has become today.

“From that complex history, and indeed informed by it, emerged a police service to which we have been able to entrust our safety. The transition to a largely unarmed civil authority, when it came, is an important part of the history of the foundation of the State,” he said.