A memorial service was held on Monday, 16 Dec 2024 at Ballinamore, Co Leitrim, to unveil a Monument of Remembrance in honour of Recruit Gda Gary Sheehan (23) and Pte Patrick Kelly (36), 6 Inf Bn who were shot dead by the Provisional IRA forty one years ago on 16 Dec 1983. A joint DF Garda operation was underway for a kidnapped businessman, Don Tidey, and the searchers came under fire from the terrorists. The remembrance ceremony started with Mass at 1130 at St Patrick’s Church and this was followed by an unveiling and wreath laying at Ballinamore Garda Station. Garda Commissioner Drew Harris, Brig Gen Rossa Mulcahy ACOS and Minister of State at the Department of Justice, James Browne TD joined members Sheehan and Kelly families.
The memorial was designed by sculptor Jackie McKenna from Dromahair with support from the Office of Public Works, draws inspiration from the stones of the Irish landscape, symbolizing healing and endurance. The design of the memorial portrays two standing stones set beside each other. The stones represent the two pillars of society- the Gardaí and the DF. A circular hole in the centre represents the void left in the families’ lives following the death of their loved ones. The concentric ripple pattern portrays the extended impact of their deaths across An Garda Síochána, the DF and the wider community.
We remember Gary Sheehan and Patrick Kelly on the anniversary of their deaths and the loss and suffering of their families and comrades.
Suaimhneas síoraí tabhair dóibh, a Thiarna, agus ligeadh solas suthain os a gcomhair.
