Flags flew at half-mast as a mark of respect to Sgt Andrew Callanan as 138 gardai graduated from the Garda Training College, Templemore, yesterday.
The sergeant graduated from the academy 17 years ago, and yesterday's celebrations were tinged with emotion.
The pomp and circumstance of graduation day was still evident, but the sadness which fell over the training college was unmistakable.
The Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, spoke of the suffering of the Callanan family and said that on a day which should be joyous and celebratory, they were tinged with the grief they suffered. "The events of yesterday have shocked and saddened not only we in An Garda Siochana but the community in general. This outrage serves to demonstrate the dangers and hazards gardai face in providing a police service to our people. "At this time our prayers and thoughts are with the family of Sgt Andy Callanan, his wife, Yvonne, and his three young children," he said.
The Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, said he was profoundly shocked at the appalling manner in which Sgt Callanan had died in the service of the State. "This tragedy, which has left a young wife and three young children without a loving father, has deeply touched all the nation. It has left you, as members of An Garda Siochana, without a loyal and committed colleague.
"The events at the Tallaght Garda station yesterday morning have also served to remind each and every right-thinking citizen of the State that you, as members of the Garda, are called upon on our behalf to discharge a difficult and oftentimes dangerous public service. We should never forget that." Adding to the tributes to Sgt Callanan, a native of Thurles, was the singer Daniel O'Donnell, who was present at the graduation ceremony. "There is just a feeling of disbelief that this could happen to someone who was just doing his job," he said.
Four of the gardai who graduated yesterday were assigned to Tallaght Garda station.