What is the collective noun for military chaplains?
Because there were plenty in Dún Uí Mhaoilíosa last week, to witness their colleague, Father Paul Murphy, receive a medal for his conduct during and after experiencing an horrific knife attack at the same location, 18 months ago.
A ‘charm’ of chaplains? A presbyterium of priests, actually, according to Fr Murphy, who was at pains to draw the Advertiser‘s attention to his young comrades, Private Ciara Shanahan, Private Dylan Geraghty and Corporal Daniel Padden, who also received Distinguished Service Medals at an historic ceremony in Renmore last Thursday.
This was the first time that four DSMs went to one unit (1 Cead Cath ) simultaneously, and the first time a DSM was awarded to an enlisted woman.
But it was the three soldiers’ youth that was immediately apparent for the 200 invited guests, alongside scores of Defence Forces’ members, who attended the event in a marquee erected on Renmore Barracks’ parade square, on a rainy Galway morning.
Dylan Geraghty (19 ), a tall teenager from Caherlistrane, was awarded the superior ribbon, the DSM with Honour, for grappling the intruder who savagely stabbed Fr Murphy seven times on that fateful summer’s night two years ago, when Ireland experienced its first radicalised Islamist attack, according to Europol.
No lives were lost on August 15, 2024, and Barrack Guards’ split-second decisions not to shoot what later turned out to be a 16-year-old boy, in the dark, is a large part of why there were no fatalities, allied with the rapid first aid Fr Murphy received before ambulances arrived. Geraghty becomes only the seventh enlisted soldier awarded this honour in 62 years.
That teenage attacker was sentenced to serve eight years for attempted murder last April. In court, Garda evidence suggested his actions were premeditated. At the sentencing hearing, in an act of humble, Christian charity reported worldwide, Fr Murphy, who suffered multiple stab wounds, publicly forgave the boy, and wished him well. The two embraced.
Daniel Padden (29 ) received his DSM with Distinction for cool-headed command of the Barrack Guard that night. The tall, non-commissioned officer from Mayo oversaw the response and immediate aftermath of mayhem, when Fr Murphy was attacked so savagely, the eight-inch, serrated hunting knife used actually pierced the roof of his vehicle.
For many guests, however, it was the sight of Limerick woman, Ciara Shanahan (22 ), who drew attention, compared to her six-foot-tall fellow medal recipients. The petite soldier not only spotted early-on that something was amiss before the knifeman lashed at Fr Murphy, she rushed to tackle him, even though – unlike her Barrack Guard colleagues – she was completely unarmed.
Bravery does indeed come in small packages. Her proud parents, Liam and Deborah, were beaming.
Minister for Defence, Helen McEntee, pinned gongs on tunics with the army’s chief of staff, Lieutenant General Rossa Mulcahy. She later cut the ribbon on the new €12.3 million, 69-bedroom accommodation block next door, to house officer cadets attending university, alongside Jacqui McCrum, secretary general of the Department of Defence.
“Defence Forces members work in stressful situations,” McEntee said, after reading the medal citations for each soldier. “An attack on a member of the Defence Forces is an attack on our State. These [soldiers] are an inspiration to all of us, and I am extremely proud to be here.”
There was spontaneous laughter when Fr Murphy pretended to drop his DSM certificate, and prolonged applause after a rendition of Amhrán na bhFiann, with lowered flags from an honour guard of soldiers, sailors and airmen.
Brigadier General Caimin Keogh, Officer Commanding the army’s 1 Brigade area, including County Galway, and commanding officer of the Renmore-based 1st Infantry Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Máirtín Coffey, attended, with other senior officers, several of the Defence Forces’ 13 military chaplains, and many retired veterans.
Mayor Mike Cubbard and council chief executive Leonard Cleary represented Galway city at the ceremony, alongside city councillors, including Terry O’Flaherty, Shane Forde and Eddie Hoare.
From Leinster House, Minister of State, Noel Grealish, Senator Seán Kyne, Senator Gerard Craughwell, Senator Diarmuid Wilson, and Eamon Scanlon TD attended.
Renmore Residents Association chairwoman, Deirdre McFadden, nearby residents, and large contingents of the medal recipients’ families were present for an event not likely to be repeated any time soon.
