Funeral of Garda Kevin Flatley funeral in Balbriggan to see thousands of mourners attend
Speaking this morning, Garda Superintendent Liam Geraghty said there will likely be thousands of gardaí in attendance at his funeral in Balbriggan this afternoon, where they will perform a guard of honour "as he takes his final journey".
"Since Kevin passed away last Sunday and was killed in the performance of his duties, a member of An Garda Síochána has stayed in his presence for the entirety since he passed away," he said.
Speaking to RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Supt Geraghty said: "This morning, the Garda Commissioner will lead probably thousands of his colleagues to mark our respects and we're very, very grateful to Kevin's family for allowing us to take part in what is a family funeral and a very, very sad day for the family, but to allow us to show our respect and gratitude, and to honour Kevin as he takes his final journey."
Gda Flatley will be taken by hearse to St Peter's and Paul's Church in Balbriggan, where a guard of honour will take place.
"We will march with our colleague and bring him to the church for his funeral ceremony.
"We anticipate that there will be possibly up to thousands of gardaí in uniform, plainclothes gardaí and garda staff lining that route."
He will also be honoured by his local GAA club, where his daughters played and where he was a coach, and by the local schools.
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RTÉ News
2 hours ago
- RTÉ News
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At 7:35pm, online outlet known for publishing hardline and often sensationalist content, posted to its near 70,000 followers that "Gardai appear to have shot an active shooter at a Carlow Shopping Centre." It followed up with a series of posts including one saying: "A 9-yr-old child has been shot during the crossfire." Traditional media sources began reporting on the incident soon after. Some local media had shared brief updates on social media earlier in the evening, but most outlets held off until Gardaí released their first official statement at 7:27pm. RTÉ News published its first online story at 7.40pm, reporting that a man had died and that a child had been injured. The report added that details of the incident remained "unclear" but that it appeared "a man fired a number of shots," and that it appeared the man had died as a result of "self-inflicted" gunshot wounds. Despite these emerging reports, false information continued to be shared elsewhere for hours. Shortly after at 8pm, Tommy Robinson, founder of the English Defence League, began amplifying false claims about the incident, saying "Multiple reports of a suspected terror attack in Carlow, Ireland. Gunman shot dead by Gardaí." Robinson, who was jailed in the UK for contempt of court in October after repeating false claims about a Syrian refugee, was released from prison last month. He has previously posted inflammatory claims related to events in Ireland, often amplifying false or unverified information. Despite the posts from Mr Blighe, and Robinson being inaccurate, they remain online more than a week after the incident. Influencers on the scene As speculation intensified online, Philip Dwyer, an unsuccessful candidate in the most recent general election and self-styled 'citizen journalist', travelled to Carlow to film outside the Fairgreen Shopping Centre. 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The Irish Sun
10 hours ago
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