Stamullen comes to standstill for Sgt Mooney commemoration

The tenth anniversary of the death of Sergeant Paddy Mooney, one of the victims of the Air Corps helicopter crash in Co Waterford in 1999, was marked last Sunday with a special commemoration ceremony in his home village of Stamullen. The ceremony involved a short prayer service led by Fr Robert McCabe, CF, involving Sergeant Mooney"s family and friends. After the prayer service, a wreath was laid by Brigadier General Chris Moore, Assistant Chief of Staff, on behalf of the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces. Another wreath was laid by Mr Joe Lynch, representing the Slane Branch of the National Organisation of Ex-servicemen (ONE). The ceremony concluded with military honours. The Last Post was sounded and after the Flag Officer, Lt Andrew Fry, No 3 Sqn, Baldonnel, raised the flag to full mast. Reveille was sounded and was followed by the National Anthem. Sergeant Mooney, who was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, was one of a crew of four Air Corps personnel in a Dauphin helicopter which crashed into a large sand dune at Tramore in 1999. The other crew members were Captain Dave O"Flaherty from Lucan, Dublin; Captain Michael Baker from Wexford, and Corporal Niall Byrne, Dublin. The four crewmen were returning from a successful rescue mission but crashed close to Tramore beach having aborted three attempted landings at Waterford Airport due to the foggy conditions. The crash was the first fatality involving an Air Corps helicopter in active service in the history of the State. At the time, President Mary McAleese and then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern led the messages of sympathy to the families of the four Air Corps personnel, and the Dail stood for a minute"s silence when it met.