An occasion to honour brave service of officers: Veteran

Those who lost their lives in the service of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and their loved ones were and are at “the forefront of our minds” at the force’s centenary service, an RUC veteran said last night.

Speaking after the event at St Anne’s Cathedral in central Belfast, Professor Stephen White OBE said those officers and especially those who paid the ultimate sacrifice helped create the new peaceful Northern Ireland.

Referring to the commemoration he said: “We have great pride in our achievements and how we contributed to the creation of a new era for Northern Ireland. This was an occasion to honour the brave service of officers and their commitment to peace.

“This was about the people we lost and those they left behind. Families are at the forefront of our minds, and today it was important they were able to remember with pride their loved ones who were cruelly taken from them.”

Prof White added that the cathedral service was a high point in the calendar of events this year to honour the memory of police officers who “provided a professional, fair and courageous service”.

The service of remembrance was conducted by the Dean of Belfast, the Very Reverend Stephen Forde and featured contributions from the Police Male Voice Choir and the PSNI Ladies Choir.

The Lord Lieutenant of Belfast, Mrs Fionnuala Jay O’Boyle, CBE, represented Her Majesty The Queen. Also in attendance was the current PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne and the former chief constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan as well as Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and members of the Garda Siochana.

The outgoing chairman of the Police Federation of Northern Ireland Mark Lindsay and his successor Liam Kelly also attended the event.

The Royal Ulster Constabulary came into existence on June 1 1922 following the disbandment of the Royal Irish Constabulary.

In 1999 the RUC was awarded the George Cross for collective gallantry by Her Majesty the Queen shortly before the force was renamed as the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Since its creation in 1922 the RUC lost 462 of its officers in the line of duty and during the Troubles 302 serving police officers and 21 former officers were murdered by terrorists between 1969 and 1998.

More than 10,000 officers were also injured.