Omeath shooting: Murdered Garda Tony Golden 'guardian of peace'

A police officer shot dead on duty in the Republic of Ireland is "mourned by the entire nation", his state funeral has heard.

Garda Anthony Golden, 36, was killed as he responded to a domestic complaint in Omeath, County Louth, on Sunday.

The gunman, Adrian Crevan Mackin, then killed himself. His partner, whom he also shot, remains critically ill.

Fr Pádraig Keenan told mourners it was a "cold-blooded murder" of a "guardian of the peace" in the line of duty.

The funeral was being held at St Oliver Plunkett Church in the seaside village of Blackrock, near Dundalk, where Garda Golden lived with his wife and three children.

Garda Anthony Golden, a father of three, was shot dead in the County Louth village of Omeath on Sunday

The funeral procession passed through the village of Blackrock, where Garda Tony Golden lived with his family

An overhead image of the funeral procession in Blackrock

Among those attending were President Michael D Higgins, Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Garda Commissioner Nóirín O'Sullivan and Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable George Hamilton.

Thousands of serving and retired police officers were also there to pay their respects, with screens erected outside the small church to relay the service to mourners outside.

Uniformed officers formed a guard of honour outside the church as his coffin passed.

Uniformed officers formed a guard of honour as Anthony Golden's coffin was carried into the church

Referring to the murder three years ago of Det Garda Adrian O'Donohue several miles away at Lordship, Fr Keenan said Garda Golden's death "brings to mind once again all the families and communities that have been affected on our island".

"There is no place for violence in our society - violence is always wrong," he added.

The funeral cortege passed the police station in Blackrock on its way to church

Thousands of serving and retired police officers were there to pay their respects

Mackin's partner, Siobhan Phillips, a 22-year-old mother of two, who was also shot and injured in the attack on Sunday evening, remains critically ill in hospital.

Fr Keenan said: "We remember her in our thoughts and prayers."

He said Garda Golden was a "much-loved role model in our community" and his family and colleagues were immensely proud of his "selfless nature".

His brother, Patrick, told mourners: "Some words immediately come to mind, such as hero, gentle giant, family man, caring, rock and idol - these words cannot explain how good of a man he was, and how much we all love him."

He paid tribute to his brother's bravery, saying: "He lost his life in an attempt to protect two other individuals and this has cost him dearly."

Garda Golden was originally from Ballina, County Mayo, but lived in Blackrock, County Louth, several miles from Omeath where he worked as a community police officer.

Mackin, 24, who was from County Down in Northern Ireland, was on bail facing dissident republican charges at the time of the shooting.