Yvonne Burke (born 20 April 1970) was a

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 ...

and the first female 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, ...

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 A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...

. At the scene they observed two men depart suspiciously on a motorbike, who very soon fell off. Approaching in the patrol car, they received gunfire from one of the men, using a sawn-off shotgun, which shattered the passenger-side windscreen. Both men re-mounted the bike and a high-speed chase resumed towards

Blanchardstown Blanchardstown () is a large outer suburb of Dublin in the modern Counties of Ireland, county of Fingal, Ireland. Located northwest of Dublin city centre, it has developed since the 1960s from a small village to a point where Greater Blanchards ...

. Once again, control of the motorbike was lost and the two men fell to the road, very heavily. Burke and Brady were able to seize the shotgun from the dazed

pillion A pillion is a secondary pad, cushion, or seat behind the main seat or saddle on a horse, motorcycle, bicycle or moped. A passenger in this seat is said to "ride pillion". The word is derived from the Scottish Gaelic for "little rug", ''pillean' ...

passenger. At the same time, the rider recovered enough to re-mount and attempt another escape, but collided with a vehicle. He ran into a field where he was arrested. Burke and Brady were presented with their Scott Silver Medals by Justice Minister John O'Donoghue at

Garda Síochána College Garda Síochána College is the education and training college of the Garda Síochána (Irish police service). It is located at McCan Barracks, Templemore, County Tipperary in Ireland. The college has been in Templemore since 1964. History The ...

Templemore Templemore () is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Eliogarty. It is part of the parish of Templemore, Clonmore and Killea in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. The 2011 Censu ...

, on 23 July 1998. As of 2008 both Gardaí were on the force.

References

*''An Garda Síochána and the Scott Medal'', 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 ...

, 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Yvonne 1970 births Living people People from County Clare Garda Síochána officers Recipients of the Scott Medal

Incident at Cabra

See also

References