Henry L. Smith
Encyclopedia
Henry L. Smith was a Garda Síochána
and recipient of the Scott Medal
.
, and worked as a farmer prior to joining the force as Garda 1969 on 18 October 1922.
, County Clare
, on 13 August 1932. The area was subject to an unusually severe cloud burst that led to flooding at a house about a mile from the Garda Station.
Arriving at the scene with his colleagues Sergeant Staunton and Garda Connolly, they persuaded a lorry driver to take them to the house, which, located in a hollow, was fast becoming a torrential lake.
The three Gardaí found the owner, Mrs. Woodroofe, clinging to the upper edge of her front door to avoid been swept away. Her bedridden husband and infant child were still within. Garda Smith
Division, retiring on 9 January 1954 after serving thirty-one years and sixty-one days. His subsequent life is unknown.
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 :...
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...
.
Background
Smith was born in Salthill, County GalwayCounty 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 worked as a farmer prior to joining the force as Garda 1969 on 18 October 1922.
Incident at Killaloe
Smith was awarded the Scott Silver Medal for actions while stationed at KillaloeKillaloe, County Clare
Killaloe is a large village in east County Clare, Ireland, situated in the midwest of Ireland. The village is on the south end of Lough Derg, while the settlement spreads across the River Shannon, with the County Tipperary side known as Ballina...
, County Clare
County Clare
-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...
, on 13 August 1932. The area was subject to an unusually severe cloud burst that led to flooding at a house about a mile from the Garda Station.
Arriving at the scene with his colleagues Sergeant Staunton and Garda Connolly, they persuaded a lorry driver to take them to the house, which, located in a hollow, was fast becoming a torrential lake.
The three Gardaí found the owner, Mrs. Woodroofe, clinging to the upper edge of her front door to avoid been swept away. Her bedridden husband and infant child were still within. Garda Smith
"plunged through the torrent, risking the treacherous pot-holes which surrounded the building, seized Mrs Woodroofe and passed her to his colleagues who had followed him. Smith then returned again to the house through the still-rising water. This time he managed to secure Mrs Woodroofe's baby; tragically child had drowned. for the third time, accompanied on this occasion by Garda Connolly, Smith re-entered the house and found Mr. Woodroofe in a room off the kitchen. Despite their imminent danger of being cut off by the water ... both men got Mr Woodruffe onto a materess which they then used as a raft to float him ... to safety."
Later life
Smith spent much of his later life and career in the TipperaryTipperary
Tipperary is a town and a civil parish in South Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 4,415 at the 2006 census. It is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, and is in the historical barony of Clanwilliam....
Division, retiring on 9 January 1954 after serving thirty-one years and sixty-one days. His subsequent life is unknown.
See also
- Brian ConnaughtonBrian ConnaughtonBrian Connaughton, Garda Síochána and recipient of the Scott Medal, 8 October 1899-26 March 1983.-Background:Connaughton was a native of Ballinglas, Mountbellew, County Galway...
- Joseph ScottJoseph Scott (garda)Joseph Scott, Garda Síochána and recipient of the Scott Medal, 4 March 1901-20 August 1962.-Background:Scott was born at Leavhive, Creggs, County Galway, and was a farmer before joining An Garda Síochána 1 April 1922, making him one of the very first members of the force...
- Deaths of Garda officers (1980)Deaths of Garda officers (1980)Two officers of the Garda Síochána, the police force of the Ireland, were shot and killed on July 7 1980 by alleged members of the Irish National Liberation Army during a pursuit in the aftermath of a bank robbery. Occurring near Loughglynn, County Roscommon, the officers' deaths provoked a...
- Jerry McCabeJerry McCabeDetective Garda Jerry McCabe was a member of the Garda Síochána, the police force of the Republic of Ireland. McCabe was murdered in Adare, County Limerick on 7 June 1996, by members of the paramilitary group, the Provisional IRA, during the attempted robbery of a post office van.-Early...
- Yvonne Burke (Garda)Yvonne Burke (Garda)Yvonne Burke, Garda Síochána and first female recipient of the Scott Medal, born 20 April 1970.-Incident at Cabra:Burke and her colleague, Garda Brady, were on mobile patrol on the Navan Road, Cabra, on 13 November 1993 when an alarm was raised at a local supermarket...
Reference
- An Garda Síochána and the Scott Medal, Gerard O'Brien, Four Courts PressFour Courts PressFour 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