Defence Forces award for Sergeant who recovered from serious Athlone accident

An Army Sergeant who made a remarkable recovery after being injured in a serious parachuting accident in Athlone in 2016 has been honoured by the Defence Forces for his courage.

Sgt Paul Halpin, who is based in the Defence Forces Training Centre, was named as the 'Overall Defence Forces Values Champion' at the third staging of the annual awards which started in 2018.

A senior member of the Defence Forces parachute display team, the Black Knights, Sgt Halpin was seriously injured in a parachuting accident in Custume Barracks, Athlone, in 2016.

Airlifted to hospital, he was placed in an induced coma having suffered serious trauma to his head and legs.

Thankfully, he has since made a remarkable recovery and fought his way back to personal fitness.

He returned to work in 2019, and has recently travelled overseas. While he no longer carries out jumps, he qualified as a rigger and is now responsible for the maintenance and certification of the Defence Forces' stock of sport and display parachutes.

Sgt Halpin was described as "an outstanding exemplar of all the Defence Forces Values" particularly in respect of how he "persevered through danger and hardship" while continuing to demonstrate loyalty to the Defence Forces and his comrades.

Born in Dublin in 1980, Sgt Halpin grew up in Kildare. He joined the Defence Forces in 2005 and served three years in the Air Defence Regiment before moving to the Artillery School in 2008.

Since 2011, he has served in the National Stores Reception Centre where his role is managing transport and logistics. He has served on overseas tours of duty on three occasion in Lebanon and Kosovo. He is married to Marita, with two children, Leah (10) and Alex (7).

The Defence Forces Chief of Staff, Vice Admiral Mark Mellett, DSM, presided over the 'Values Champions' awards ceremony which took place in Baldonnel earlier this month.