The heroic NYPD Irish cops who gave their all to keep the city safe

Some were killed in line of duty, others injured protecting the public

After ten days in hospital Brennan was miraculously well enough to return to his home in Long Island to join his wife and two-month-old daughter, Maeve.

Ray Kelly said “This is a great story…This young man gave his all, we see in the film where he tackles this individual [who] has a gun in his hand. He knew, he saw the gun. And yet he went right at him and grabbed him, and he was shot at point blank range, and it truly is a miracle that he survived."

Anthony Dwyer

Officer Dwyer was killed when he was pushed from a rooftop during a struggle with a suspect. He and other officers had responded to a robbery at a McDonald's fast-food restaurant in Times Square.

Officer Dwyer chased one of the suspects to the roof of the building where the suspect pushed him off of the roof into an airshaft. He did not die immediately. He was jammed in a confined space between buildings where he could hardly breathe. He had a compound fracture and ruptured internal organs. He was leaning on the speaker button of his radio and everyone working could hear his agony. ESU responded to the scene and attempted to dig through the wall to get to him.

The suspect Eddie Matos was apprehended and sentenced to 25 years to life.
Officer Dwyer had been on the police force for a year and a half and was assigned to Midtown South. He was 23 years old.

Francis Hennessy

Police Officer Francis Hennessy, a 35-year-old Brooklyn cop collapsed while responding to an unfounded report of a man with a gun died of a brain aneurysm.

Francis Hennessy, an Irish national and an NYPD cop for eight years, died at Downstate Medical Center, less than 15 hours after he was hospitalized the previous night when responding to a call of an armed man in the Flatbush section.

A spokesman for the city's medical examiner said the cause of death was a "ruptured brain aneurysm," a genetic condition in which a bulge in a vessel creates intra-cranial pressure upon bursting.

Hennessy, a scooter cop assigned to the 70th Precinct, had 75 arrests in his career.
He became ill after responding with two other cops to a report at 9:30 pm of a man with a gun, collapsing after emerging from a radio patrol car.

Other officers tried to save his life, performing CPR upon him and he was taken to Kings County Hospital before being transferred to Downstate.  He was initially believed to have suffered two separate heart attacks.

An eight-year veteran of the force, Hennessy received three departmental commendations for excellence on duty during his career, police said. He was married with two children. He joined the police force in 1997.      

Joseph McCormack

On September 29, 1983, NYPD Emergency Service Units responded to a call of an emotionally disturbed person armed with a weapon at 1639 Mulford Avenue, Bronx, in the 45th precinct. On arrival at the scene, they were informed by patrol units that a male was barricaded in the residence and armed with a shotgun.

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Nster.com