Manus Patten (12 August 1902–20 June 1977) was an Irish police officer (Garda 4576), who was a recipient of the

Scott Medal The Walter Scott Medal for Valor is a medal awarded for acts of bravery by the Garda Síochána. It is not a state award, being in the gift of the Garda Commissioner. History The Garda medal was instituted at the behest of Colonel Walter Scott ...

. Patten was a native of Derreans,

Achill Achill Island (; ) is an island off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland in the barony (Ireland), historical barony of Burrishoole, County Mayo. It is the largest of the Irish isles and has an area of approximately . Achill had a popu ...

Sound,

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

, joining the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...

on 31 May 1923. During the early hours of 26 December 1938, in Ballina, a fire broke out at Pearse Street, home and business premises of a J J Duncan. Garda Patten alerted the inhabitants of the houses on either side of Duncan's, then made his way to the upper floor of the building. He located four distressed members of the family, and urged them down the stairs, as the house was now well ablaze. However, when outside, he learned there were still more people in the house, and ran back up the burning stairs to find a barely conscious husband and wife, who he escorted outside. He was then informed that Mr Duncan could not be located; by now suffering from smoke inhalation, Patten made a third entry into the building, spending several minutes in an increasingly toxic environment in a vain search for Duncan. He had to be dragged from the premises himself, just as the ceiling collapsed. J J Duncan's remains were later found in the ruins. Garda Patten was awarded the Scott Silver Medal on 11 December 1939. He continued in the Mayo Division until his retirement on 20 July 1965.

References

* ''An Garda Síochána and the Scott Medal'', p. 53, Gerard O'Brien,

Four Courts Press Four Courts Press is an independent Irish academic publishing house, with its office at Malpas Street, Dublin 8, Ireland. Founded in 1970 by Michael Adams, who died in February 2009, its early publications were primarily theological, notably ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Patten, Manus Police officers from County Mayo 1977 deaths Garda Síochána officers Recipients of the Scott Medal 1902 births