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Fifteen retired and serving gardaí (Irish police) and members of their families are to be awarded Scott Medals for their courage during a kidnapping almost 38 years ago.

Supermarket executive Don Tidey was kidnapped outside his home in Dublin in November 1983.

He was held captive for 23 days by an armed IRA gang before he was rescued by gardaí and the Defence Forces.

Garda Gary Sheehan and Pte Patrick Kelly were shot dead in the incident.

The Scott Medal is the highest award given by the Garda commissioner.

It is awarded for "exceptional bravery and heroism involving the risk of life in the execution of duty".

The medal originated in 1923 when Col Walter Scott, an honorary commissioner of the New York City Police and a well known philanthropist, presented An Garda Síochána, then the world's youngest police force, with a $1,000 gold bond.

Fifteen gold, silver and bronze medals are to be presented on Friday, Irish broadcaster RTÉ has reported.

Four of those are to be awarded posthumously to gardaí family members, including the gold medal for Garda Gary Sheehan.

He was shot dead by the armed gang which kidnapped MrTidey as he took his 13-year-old daughter to school.

Mr Tidey was found following an intensive Garda and army search which resulted in a shoot-out in Drumcroman Woods, Derrada in County Leitrim.

The IRA gang escaped but were stopped by a garda four days later.

The officer managed to disarm one of them and provide descriptions of the gang before they tied him up and held him at gunpoint.

Fourteen of the Scott Medals are to be awarded to gardaí for their actions on the afternoon Don Tidey was rescued.

The other is to be awarded for the events at the checkpoint four days later.