James Mulroy (17 August 1899 – 7 August 1986), was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

police officer (Garda 1264) who was the first recipient of the

Scott Medal The Walter Scott Medal for Valor is a medal awarded for acts of bravery by the Garda Síochána. It is not a state award, being in the gift of the Garda Commissioner. History The Garda medal was instituted at the behest of Colonel Walter Scott, ...

Background

Mulroy was born at Coolkevane,

Straide Straide (), or Strade, is a village in County Mayo, Ireland. It is located on the N58 national secondary road between Foxford and Castlebar. The name Strade is an anglicisation of the Irish words ''an tsráid'', meaning ''the street''. Straid ...

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

. Prior to joining the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gover ...

on 19 May 1922, he had been a

labourer A laborer (or labourer) is a person who works in manual labor types in the construction industry workforce. Laborers are in a working class of wage-earners in which their only possession of significant material value is their labor. Industries e ...

Incident near Broadford

Mulroy's first posting was to Broadford,

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...

. On 23 May 1923, he and a colleague, some four miles from the station, were waylaid by two armed robbers. The Gardaí were told to surrender all possessions, including their uniforms. Mulroy refused. He was taken to a deserted laneway to be murdered; en route he refused to move another step, challenging the robbers to shoot him where he stood. One of the robbers placed a revolver against his chest and gave him five minutes to change his mind. During that course of time the robber became distracted, and Mulroy was able to overpower him. The other robber shot him in the shoulder but, as it had been a single-barrel shotgun, was unable to fire again, so he began to beat him around the head with the butt of the gun until the stock broke. "Maintaining his hold on the man he had pinned to the ground, Mulroy with his other hand gripped the shotgun barrel. The shotgun-bearer then took to his heels, leaving his colleague in Mulroy's grip. Mulroy was then able to disarm the assailant beneath him. At this point Mulroy momentarily lost consciousness. When he recovered he was still clutching the shotgun barrel and the revolver, but his captive had taken the to flee. Mulroy made his way back to Broadford Station arriving at 5a.m. As soon has his wounds had been attended to by a local doctor he went immediately with another Guard and managed to arrest one of the two assailants."

Recognition

Garda Mulroy was awarded the Scott Gold Medal by Colonel Scott himself at the Depot,

Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park ( ga, Páirc an Fhionnuisce) is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and tre ...

, on 18 August 1924. In his later career he served in with the

Special Branch Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and Intelligence (information gathering), intelligence in Policing in the United Kingdom, British, Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, ...

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

. He retired on 16 August 1962. His achievement was recognised in 1978 at a special dinner during which he presented his medal to the Garda Museum.

References

* ''An Garda Síochána and the Scott Medal'', pp. 27–28, Gerard O'Brien,

Four Courts Press Four Courts Press is an independent Irish academic publishing house, with its office at Malpas Street, Dublin 8, Ireland. Founded in 1970 by Michael Adams, who died in February 2009, its early publications were primarily theological, notably t ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, 2008. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Mulroy, James People from Strade Garda Síochána officers 1899 births 1986 deaths Recipients of the Scott Medal Police officers from County Mayo