The support Sergeant David Haughney received has pulled him through a life-changing injury he sustained while dealing with a violent gang in East Cork.

Garda work injury rates, including from assaults, are 10 times higher than that of the average worker, official figures show.

There have been almost 1,500 incidents of assaulting or obstructing gardaí in the last five years.

A garda sergeant had a rock thrown at his head and told his colleague he was “a goner” as they came under fire from a violent group. He fell to the ground and the other officer, who was also injured, shielded the fallen sergeant from further harm.