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Brave garda honoured after 39 years

Thursday, 06 March 2008

IT may be almost 40 years ago, but a retired Northside Garda can still clearly remember the night he fell through the roof of a city centre building during a daring chase of two burglars.
A delighted John Duggan (66), from Kilmore Crescent, Artane, was last week the proud recipient of the special Liddy Medal for his bravery in being seriously injured while on duty, from the Garda Siochana Retired Members’ Association.
After receiving his medal at a ceremony in the Regency Hotel, Drumcondra, on February 25, John recounted the incident in 1969 when he cheated death after a horrendous 35-foot fall.
“It was February 28, 1969, and I was stationed at Pearse Street Garda Station when I got a call in relation to a burglary in the Grafton Street area,” John told Northside People.
“It was a lovely moonlit evening and I could see that two burglars were on the roofs of some shops and offices, so with the help of a fellow Garda, I scaled the buildings and gave chase.
“Luckily, we managed to capture one of them, but as I then continued on to try and catch the next guy, I fell through the roof of one of the buildings and landed on a floor 35 feet below.”
John said the next thing he could remember was waking up in hospital with seven fractures, including both his wrists, and various other injuries to his forehead and body.
Amazingly, the fearless Garda was back at work within a fortnight.
“I got bored hanging around at home, so I went back to work after two weeks, but just in the office for a while,” John explained.
“We managed to get a conviction on the burglar we caught on the night, but the most amazing thing for me was that about a year later, I arrested the other guy I was chasing in relation to a totally different incident.”
John, who retired from the Force 11 years ago, said the injuries from the fall were the worst he was to suffer on duty in his 32 years as a Garda.
However, he said nothing could compare to the trauma of the car bombings in Dublin’s city centre in 1974, which claimed 27 lives.
“There was just total devastation from those bombings and we had to clear up parts of bodies from the scene,” he stated.
“That was really horrific and I remember that when I got home that night I just started shaking and I drank a full bottle of brandy for the only time in my life.
“There was no such thing as counselling back then, which I think was really lacking, because there was no doubt that any of us who witnessed that were deeply affected by it.”
Now happily retired, John revealed that he doesn’t really miss his old job all that much.
“I feel sorry for the young guards nowadays with the level of crime there is and many of them probably feel that they are beaten before they have even started,” he added.
“But it was great for me to get the recognition of the medal after all these years.”

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