Tragedy highlights never-ending danger

THE dangers faced by gardaí and firefighters on a routine basis as they go about their duty are usually put to the back of their minds.

But when a tragedy happens such as that in Askeaton yesterday, the ever-present risks are shown up in harsh spotlight.

The history of the Irish state is littered with black days when the guardians of our peace have gone the extra mile and paid the ultimate price.

Gunshots, speeding cars and fires have all claimed the lives of too many brave gardaí over the years, while others have had narrow escapes. In all, 41 gardaí have been killed in the line of duty while three firemen were killed in 1936 at a fire in Pearse Street, Dublin.

For many years, most gardaí killed while in service to the State were the victims of armed robbers or kidnappers, caught up in crossfire or the result of panicked raiders opening fire. Between 1922 and 1999, 22 were shot dead while two others were killed by booby trap bombs.

Sergeant Paul Reid from Dublin was fatally injured in 1995, at the height of the Balkans conflict, while on UN duty in Sarajevo, and in 1999, Sgt Andy Callinan from Thurles was fatally injured when a man came into Tallaght Garda Station and started a fire.

Many members of the Garda Síochana were also killed in the northern troubles, while the death in 1996 of Det Grda Jerry McCabe had a lasting impact on the public consciousness and political consequences which continue to resonate.

In recent years, there’s been a marked increase in the amount of gardaí killed on the roads, reflecting a huge jump in the amount of vehicles in the country.

In 1998, Grda Eoin Fitzgerald from Bray, son of deputy commissioner Peter Fitzgerald, died when his patrol car crashed into another vehicle in Mount Merrion, Dublin, after he responded to an emergency call.

The following year, Grda Ambrose Fogarty of Terryglass in Co Tipperary and Garda Richard Nolan, from Enniscorthy in Co Wexford, were killed when their patrol car crashed in Enniscorthy as they travelled to deal with a situation outside a nightclub.

In 2000, Grda Garreth Harmon and Garda Conor Griffin, both from Dublin, were killed when they responded to a request for assistance from a patrol car pursuing another vehicle, and their unmarked car went out of control.

In 2001, Kerry natives Grda George Rice and Grda Seamus McIntyre, both based in Cork city, were killed when their patrol car collided with a hackney cab after they responded to a call for help from gardaí in the Blarney area.

The same year saw Det Grda Des Dixon lost his life when his unmarked patrol car was involved in a head-on collision with another car near Dundalk.

Grda Anthony Tighe, of Dublin, and Grda Michael Padden, from Belmullet, Co Mayo, were killed instantly in April, 2004, when their patrol car was hit in the side by a stolen vehicle travelling at up to 100 miles per hour.