Alfie Devine represents Westmeath firefighters at 9/11 25th anniversary commemoration

Everyone remembers where they were when the catastrophic news broke about the falling of the twin towers. In the aftermath, it was the first responders who risked their lives, bringing people to safety. Many became victims of that terrible tragedy.

The 25 years later first responders from across the globe travelled to ground zero. Among them was Cllr Alfie Devine, who flew to the US to represent the Mullingar Fire Station in remembrance of those 343 first responders who were lost in the 9/11 disaster.

Cllr Devine showed his respect on Thursday as Friday was closed off for families and dignitaries. Speaking to The Examiner he described the feeling of the day: "People were very respectful and they were getting ready for the following day. And there were a lot of flowers being laid at the base of the Twin Towers. It was a very poignant scene.

“On the day of the event there was a lot going on, and they actually had drones up in the shape of the Twin Towers out over the Hudson River. It was sort of a quiet but respectful day. And we just sat there and took in the atmosphere,” he said.

As a first responder it was a particularly difficult day for Cllr Devine, imagining the terrifying reality that was faced by these brave and heroic people all those years ago.

“As a firefighter myself, it was sort of surreal because when you see the amount of firefighters that died on the day and the equipment left behind. You can just imagine what they went through going up and not knowing whether they were going to come back or not. It pulls at heartstrings.”

Alfie found the number of Irish names on the memorial shocking: “A third of the names that died on the day were of Irish descent," he said.

Those links makes it all the more important that a representative was there to honour those lost on this tragic anniversary that forever changed the world.