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Justice Minister Helen McEntee paid tribute to Garda Detective Colm Horkan, who was shot and killed in Castlerea, Co Roscommon, in June, while laying a wreath in memory of service members who died during the pandemic.
A small ceremony was held at Collins Barracks in Dublin as part of a dramatically cut National Services Day with the Minister taking the opportunity to hail the “selfless commitment of the slain Garda to the community and country”.
He said it was his “deep privilege to work closely with some of our front-line emergency services” and added that he had “seen first-hand their tremendous professionalism and dedication, in what can be very challenging circumstances. “
He said that the demands on emergency workers “may never have been greater than this year, as we live through the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The past six months have been “a scary and uncertain time for all of us,” the Minister said, but “our emergency workers, despite private fears they may have had for themselves or their loved ones, have continued to fully comply with their duties and in fact they have increased their efforts to support the public. We owe them, and their families, a deep debt of gratitude for their excellent professionalism, dedication and care. “
** Happy National Services Day **
For all of our service members, today is your day, wear your uniform with pride and remember those who have lost and cannot be with us today.
We’re going to “make some noise” at 3pm and let our heroes hear the support loud and clear.#nationalservices # nsd2020 pic.twitter.com/3SLFps27cb– NationalServicesDay (@NatServicesDay) September 5, 2020
“On this day, I particularly think of Garda detective Colm Horkan, who tragically lost his life in the service of the state this year. In his selfless commitment to the community and the country, Detective Horkan represented the best of An Garda Síochána and indeed all of our frontline services. We remember and honor him today. “
Fly over
He concluded by saying that although the pandemic “had prevented us from holding a parade in his honor this year, I join the Éire Forum of Frontline Security and Emergency Services in asking the public to take time today to remember and pay a warm tribute. to the women and men of our frontline and emergency services. “
At exactly three minutes past seven in the afternoon, three Air Corp helicopters flew in an orderly triangular formation over the roof of Mater Hospital on the north side of Dublin.
As the blades above burned, a lone ambulance driving slowly down Eccles Street sounded its siren in short bursts.
In addition to the flyover and sirens, church bells rang, car horns sounded and people applauded in recognition of the work done in general by frontline workers over the past year and more particularly the work they have done. conducted since the beginning of the pandemic last spring.
Reduced
The event, which has been held on the first Saturday in September since its inception in 2018, is typically marked by a parade and other activities honoring full-time, part-time and volunteer workers, including firefighters, ambulance crews, the Defending. Armed Forces, Coast Guard, Lifeboat Services and Civil Defense.
But this year is like no other, and the commemoration was reduced as a result of public health restrictions.
“We had to change the way we celebrate National Services Day [but]this year, more than others, we knew we had to do something, “said the organizers in a post on social media.
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