Garda Kevin Flatley was a family man, a committed member of An Garda Síochána, a talented musician and “a wonderful dancer”, his funeral Mass has heard.
The 49-year-old, who lived in Balbriggan with his wife and two young daughters, was killed in a road traffic incident in north Co Dublin last weekend.
His family, colleagues and many friends, especially from O’Dwyer’s GAA Club in Balbriggan, had been left “heartbroken” on learning of his death last Sunday afternoon, mourners at St Peter and Paul’s Church in Balbriggan were told.
Garda Flatley’s coffin was draped in the Tricolour, which was later presented to the dead man’s widow, Úna, by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris.
His coffin was then taken from the church for burial in Newcastle, Co Dublin, draped in the flag of O’Dwyer’s GAA club, where he coached the U10s and of which his children, Erin and Aoife, are members.
Hundreds of uniform gardaí, along with members of the GAA club and representatives from the Defence Forces, fire brigade and Police Service of Northern Ireland, formed a guard of honour as the funeral cortege made its way to the church at lunchtime on Friday.
Members of the public also attended in large numbers, with Balbriggan closed to traffic for the afternoon. Two big screens were erected outside the church so those who could not fit inside could follow the Mass.
President Michael D Higgins, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Simon Harris and Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan were among those in attendance.
Garda Flatley’s hurley and fiddle were among the offertory gifts along with an O’Dwyer’s GAA training top and match jersey.
Garda Rosanna Caul, a close colleague of Garda Flatley’s for more than a decade, told mourners the lives of “Úna, Erin and Aoife were changed forever” when he was killed while on duty last weekend.
“They never imagined when Kevin went to work that he would not return home,” she said.
Garda Flatley’s focus was always on helping people “and this extended far beyond the workplace”, she said, as he was “always the first to offer support to community groups and the first to put his hand up to volunteer”.
This included work with the Special Olympics, Fingal Triathlon Club, where he was race director in 2013, and at O’Dwyer’s GAA. He finished a half Ironman triathlon, completed many other triathlons and loved having “his family on the sideline cheering him on”, Garda Caul said.
He was “never happier” than when he was watching his daughters playing a game with O’Dwyer’s, which was about “being of a community” rather than winning, she said. The “club and the game will remain a part of his girls’ lives”. He especially loved hurling and followed the Dublin team around the country with his family.
Garda Flatley’s friends from Newcastle “remembered his infectious smile and laughter”.
After leaving school he studied electrical engineering at Dublin Institute of Technology, but applied to the Garda and was accepted into the force in 1998.
“It was something he strived for,” Garda Caul said in her eulogy, adding that he began his policing career in Pearse Street station in Dublin’s south inner city.
“He was an obliging member of his unit and was well respected by his colleagues.”
He moved on to Blanchardstown Garda station in 2006, where he and his colleagues developed an enduring bond and were “like a family”.
However, she said all of his colleagues always knew Garda Flatley wanted to become a member of the Roads Policing Unit and he was “delighted” to join the unit in 2018.
Garda Caul said he “always wanted to do the motorcycle course and he was so happy when he achieved that goal”. He loved working there and his family know “how heartbroken his colleagues are”.
Garda Flatley was attached to the Roads Policing Unit in Dublin Castle and had served on the force for 26 years. He was the 90th member of An Garda Síochána killed on duty.
He was fatally injured at about 12.50pm on Sunday while carrying out speed checks on the R132 at Lissenhall near Swords. He was struck by a motorcyclist, who he had just detected speeding and was attempting to stop.
The motorcyclist, a man in his 30s, remains critically injured in hospital. A Garda investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Garda motorcycle colleagues from the Dublin Metropolitan Region’s Roads Policing Unit were among those who formed a long guard of honour outside the church as the hearse arrived.
Two members of the Garda led the cortege, one carrying the Irish flag and the other the flag of An Garda Síochána. The church bells rang as the coffin arrived.
A large number of uniformed gardaí walked to the church with fellow mourners, including Commissioner Harris.
Inside the church, as the service began, members of the Garda’s Ceremonial Unit placed the Irish flag on Garda Flatley’s coffin, along with his cap and gloves.
Several personal items were placed at the altar to represent his life. They included a fiddle, jerseys from O’Dwyer’s GAA in Balbriggan, his hurley, a chocolate bar and a family bible that he used to read to his daughters, Aoife and Erin.
Fr Dan Joe O’Mahony extended his condolences to Garda Flatley’s widow Una and his daughters.
“I’ve seen so many in tears the last few days,” he said. “It’s something when you see a guard crying – that does something to you.”
He added: “Kevin’s life – one of the most helpful gentlemen you could meet, a coach at O’Dwyer’s here in Balbriggan, a family man, a great guard, and I’m saying that without condition today, who left no stone unturned in his duty of care.”
Speaking generally about road safety in Ireland, Fr O’Mahony urged motorists to show “courtesy”.
“Good friends, we as human beings today are asked, each one of us are asked, to share the roads,” he said. “I don’t own the roads. You don’t. We share them together. We travel together and we have to show prudence and courtesy.”
