'Bricks, fireworks, pitchforks thrown at you, it is frightening, but you have a duty' - gardai awarded bravery medals were also on Citywest frontline

""The house was covered in smoke," Garda Murphy told the Irish Independent. "We tried to get through the front door, but that was shut, so we couldn't get there. Garda Conor Treacy went through the back, found a ladder up to the bedroom, and I just followed him up. I wouldn't leave him on his own," he said."

""When I went into the room, I initially thought the person was fatally injured, but luckily enough, with the assistance of my colleague, we got them to safety and everyone thankfully was okay.""

""This one's special. Saving someone's life, not many people do it. I'm just so just happy that all of us were safe after.""

""When you're standing there and there are bottles, bricks, fireworks, sometimes there's shovels, pitchforks thrown at you, it is frightening, but you have a duty to carry out," Garda Treacy said. "And obviously, we have families and homes to go to as well. There's nothing stopping people from carrying out a peaceful protest, but it was anything but a peaceful protest throughout the last couple of days.""

Garda Nigel Murphy and Garda Conor Treacy received Silver Scott medals for rescuing a woman trapped in a house fire in Dublin West. The house was filled with smoke and the front door was shut, so Treacy accessed the rear, found a ladder to the bedroom, and Murphy followed to assist. The trapped person appeared severely injured but was brought to safety with both gardaí and others unharmed. Both officers also served on the frontline during violent protests in Citywest, where officers faced thrown bottles, bricks, fireworks and improvised weapons and some colleagues were injured.

Read at Irish Independent