First Garda Traffic Unit team mark 50th anniversary of establishment

Four of the five remaining members of the 13-strong team that made up Westmeath’s first garda traffic unit met up earlier this year to mark the 50th anniversary of its establishment. Christy Moran, the first sergeant of the unit formed in 1973, joined former colleagues Noel Corcoran, Pat Smyth and John Costello in the Annebrook House Hotel earlier this year for a trip down memory lane. Sadly, eight of the team (Peter Kelly, Vincent Moran, Pat Fitzgerald, Michael Hawkshaw, Tony Donoghue, Gerry Henry, Gabriel Lee and John Brennan) have passed on. Pat McCarthy was unable to attend the event. The Traffic Corps was established in 1973 in response to a rise in road traffic deaths. The original 13 members of the traffic unit based in Mullingar station area of operation covered a huge area, stretching from Granard to Tullamore and from Ballinasloe to Kilcock.