merrion street

A ceremony was held yesterday to honour the first contingent of Garda members to serve with the United Nations. The group of 35 travelled to Namibia, then called South-West Africa, in 1989 as part of the United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG), a peacekeeping force deployed to monitor the peace process and ensure fair and free elections.

Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan welcomed the group to Garda Headquarters in Phoenix Park yesterday, thanking  those “who served on the mission with such distinction” and extending his “thanks and appreciation for the difficult and challenging role you undertook, and the professional way you carried out your duties”.  He took the time to “pay tribute to two of our colleagues Garda Des Connelly and Garda Joe O’Keeffe who were on that mission with you but unfortunately are no longer with us”. 

Also in attendance at the ceremony was Justice Minister Alan Shatter, who said of the ceremony:

“I am glad, too, to be here to mark the posting of Garda members to Namibia to take part in an important United Nations mission”.

According to the Garda Síochána, over 895 Gardai have served on overseas duties in 25 different locations since 1989.