‘We created a bubble for him to run’: Four gardaí ran marathon beside Colin Farrell

Four members of the Garda National Technical Bureau volunteered to flank Hollywood actor Colin Farrell as he ran the Dublin Marathon on Sunday.

Detective Gardaí Ian Redican, Barry Duggan, Ernie Frazer and Detective Sergeant Tom Power swapped their uniforms for blue running vests to complete the marathon, while also providing an extra layer of security for the actor.

The four colleagues appeared in pictures beside Farrell as he ran the marathon to raise almost €790,000 for Debra Ireland, which supports those with Epidermolysis Bullosa, a rare and painful skin condition often called ‘Butterfly Skin’.

The actor pushed his close friend Emma Fogarty for the last four kilometres of the race, a kilometre for every decade she has lived with the painful condition.

“I got a phone call in the lead-up to the marathon from Inspector Liam White in the Dublin Traffic Division, asking if any of the Garda Athletic Club, who were already planning to run, would be interested in running the race with Colin,” said Det Gda Redican, who provides training support for club members.

“Every year about 100 to 150 gardaí run in the Dublin City Marathon and it was a big ask to get runners, who had already been training hard for the past six months, to give up their own race ambitions to run someone else’s race instead.

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“I’ve 23 marathons under my belt so I wasn’t going for a personal best time at this stage – and Barry, Ernie and Tom all came on board quickly too.”

The gardaí, in a voluntary and unpaid capacity, agreed to run alongside the Penguin star in case a fan tried to get a selfie or an autograph and accidentally tripped him up.

“People’s hearts are in the right place, and I’m sure they wouldn’t wish to cause any disruption that might cause injury or anything, but Colin is such a huge star and the Irish love him. But sometimes the blinkers can be on, and we would’ve been disappointed if his charity effort came off the tracks,” Det Gda Redican said.

[ Dublin marathon effort by Colin Farrell and friend with skin disorder raises €500,000Opens in new window ]

The garda described Colin as a “genuine guy” and said he acknowledged everyone who was shouting encouragement along the route.

“I think he was just overawed with everything because he didn’t know what to expect and he would ask our advice through the race if his legs were a bit tight or how he was feeling in general and we would just say it was all normal.

“We are all seasoned runners so we knew the course. We just created a bubble for him to run and provided an escort for him.

“We all got medals, Colin got a medal, everything went like a dream and we feel we made our contribution to Debra Ireland on the day. I’d say, like the rest of us, he was hurting on Monday.”