Scott medal citations were presented today Ennis Garda Station retired to three retired and one serving member of An Garda Síochána.
Retired Garda Nicholas Marnell, retired Inspector John O’Sullivan and retired Sergeant Kieran Carroll along with serving Superintendent John Galvin received the citations in recognition of the Scott Medal awards which they received during their careers.
Retired Inspector O’Sullivan and retired Garda Marnell received Gold and Bronze medals respectively for their part in the arrest of an armed gunman in Dublin in 1985.
Superintendent Galvin and retired Sergeant Carroll had received Bronze medals for the rescue of an elderly man from a fire at Blackrock Dublin in 1990.
The Scott Medal is the highest award that can be bestowed by the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána and is awarded for ‘most exceptional bravery and heroism involving the risk of life in the execution of duty’.
The Scott Medal
In 1923 Colonel Walter Scott, an Honorary Commissioner of the New York City Police and a well known philanthropist, presented An Garda Síochána, then the world’s youngest Police Force, with a $1,000 gold bond.
There was only one condition attached to the award of the Scott Medal: “No action, however heroic, will merit the award of the Scott medal unless it takes the shape of an act of personal bravery, performed intelligently in the execution of duty at imminent risk to the life of the doer, and armed with full previous knowledge of the risk involved”.
The medal is in the form of a Celtic cross. There are five panels on the face of the medal that depict the words “The Scott Medal”, “For Valour”, the eagle and the shield of the USA, the harp and sunburst and the Garda Crest. The reverse of the medal carries the inscription, “Garda Síochána na h-Éireann”. The 4 outside panels are the arms of the four provinces of Ireland – Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connaught.
The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform presents recipients with their medals at an annual Scott Medal ceremony. The ceremony usually takes place at the Garda College.