Martin Walsh (garda) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Martin K. Walsh , Garda Síochána

Garda Síochána

, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...

Sergeant

Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....

16180 and recipient of the Scott Medal

Scott Medal

The Walter Scott Medal is a medal awarded annually for bravery to Garda Síochána police officers and firemen. It is not a state award, being at the gift of the commissioner, but the medals are awarded by the Minister for Justice. FDNY recipients are also awarded $500, donated by the Fire Foundation...

, born 25 May 1945.

Background

Walsh was a native of Gurteen, Ballinasloe, County Galway

County Galway

County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...

, and joined the force on 21 April 1965.

Incident at Cabinteely

Walsh was on patrol on 11 July 1967, in Cabinteely

Cabinteely

Cabinteely is a south-eastern suburb of Dublin in Ireland, in the administrative county of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.-History:There is a prehistoric burial tomb known as Brennanstown Portal Tomb, Glendruid cromlech/dolmen, or The Druids’ Altar near Cabinteely....

, Dublin. At 2.45 a.m., he went to investigate a car parked at a filling station, but it made off at high speed. A high-speed chase, over a distance of some two and a half miles, ensued, ending when the car crashed into a wall. A man fled the scene, and on being tackled by Walsh began to assault the garda, who found that the man was several times his weight and seize. The man used a foot-long metal tool to hit Walsh on his left, causing him to retreat. Returning, Walsh removed the tool only to find that the assailaint had a screwdriver; however, he was able to disable him long enough to detain him at a doorway and ring a doorbell, looking for assistance.

"But the assailant then made a frantic effort to free himself. In the course of this he managed to pin the increasingly faint and exausted Garda to the ground and proceeded to stab him round the eyes with the screwdriver, seemingly intent on killing him. With a herculean effort Guard Walsh threw the man off and, as he attempted again to flee, brought him to the ground and disarmed him. He then grasped the man's hair and struck his head several times against the footpath, weakening him and finally gaining the upper hand. A patrol car arrived at this point and took the young Guard, who was unable to rise and almost blind, to a hospital."

Promoted to Sergeant while in hospital, Walsh received the Scott Silver Medal on 2 May 1968, retireng on 23 May 2002. His assailant was sentenced to three years penal servitude.

Reference

An Garda Síochána and the Scott Medal, p. 77-78, Gerard O'Brien, Four Courts Press
Four Courts Press
Four Courts Press is an Irish academic publishing house.It was founded in 1970 by Michael Adams, a managing director at the Irish Academic Press and a member of Opus Dei. Its early publications were primarily theological, notably the English translation of the Navarre Bible...

, 2008. ISBN 978 1 84682 124 0

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Background

Incident at Cabinteely

See also

Reference