Page 21 - Irish Tenors News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

In December, as a tribute to his contribution to the Fire Department both before and since the September 11 attacks, Irish tenor Ronan Tynan was made an honorary firefighter. Tynan’s affinity with the New York Fire Department goes back a long way. In 1984, at the New York Paralympics, he became friendly with some firefighters. This longstanding friendship led him to offer to sing at the funerals of two of the three firefighters who were killed in the Father’s Day tragedy in New York in June 2001. It was at these funerals that he met Deputy Fire Chief Ray Downey, who was to be one of the many firefighters to lose his life on September 11 and at whose memorial Ronan would later sing. After the attacks on September 11, Ronan went back to New York from Washington, where he had been due to sing at the Pentagon, and tried to help where he could. As a qualified medical doctor, he offered assistance at St Vincent’s but as the hospital was not overwhelmed by casualties, his help wasn�

New yorkUnited statesRockaway beachRay downeyRonan tynanAmerican airlinesFire departmentYork fire departmentIrish americaNew york fire departmentNew york paralympicsDeputy fire chief ray downeyMayor giulianiYankee stadiumIrish tenorsIrish america magazine