Eight Gardián Heroes to Receive Scott Medal for Daring Acts

Eight Scott medals will be awarded today to gardaí for acts of bravery in the line of duty. Three of these medals will be given posthumously.

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The Scott medal is the highest honour awarded by the Garda Commissioner for heroism involving life-threatening risks. Helen McEntee, the minister of justice, is scheduled to attend the Dublin ceremony. 

The medals honour the gardaí’s deeds from the 1930s till the present. There will be two gold and one bronze medal given out posthumously.

Receivers of The Scott Medal

Among the honorees is the late Superintendent John Curtin, who was ambushed and killed at his home in 1931 after prosecuting suspects in Tipperary.

Detective Sergeant Denis O’Brien, who was shot dead in Rathfarnham in 1942, will also receive a gold medal posthumously.

Garda Morgan Lahiffe is being recognised with a bronze medal for his actions in 1971 when he and a colleague pursued armed raiders in Cork despite being threatened at gunpoint.

More recent bravery includes Sergeant Niamh Connaughton and Detective Garda Warren Farrell, who in 2013, intercepted an armed robbery in Dublin, leading to the arrest of two raiders.

Garda Timothy McSweeney will be honoured for his courage in 2022 after tackling a knife-wielding suspect while protecting a family.

Lastly, two gardaí from the Underwater Unit are being recognized for a daring sea rescue in Mayo in 1997.