Prompt action by an Irish diplomat helped prevent an embarrassing episode at a September 11th Irish memorial service in Manhattan involving a group of PSNI men from Northern Ireland.
The five police officers, in dress uniform, had arrived at Holy Trinity Church on 82nd Street to attend a 7.30 service on Tuesday evening, organised by the church and the Consulate General of Ireland.
However as the service got under way, the Northern Ireland police officers remained on the roadway outside, clearly embarrassed. It is understood they felt they might not be welcome because of the attitude of an Irish American member of the congregation unconnected with the consulate.
The PSNI officers, who had earlier attended a similar service orgsanised by the British consulate, were about to leave when the diplomat heard what had happened and persuaded two of the officers to attend the service.
The incident went largely unnoticed by the packed congregation at a moving service attended by the Minister for Foreign Affairs.