[caption id="attachment_66831" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Dan Rooney views 9/11 memorial wreaths outside the American Embassy in Dublin."]
The tenth anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks was marked Sunday at a poignant memorial gathering in Dublin.
U.S. Ambassador to Ireland, Dan Rooney, and his wife Patricia hosted the event, entitled a "Ceremony of Peace and Reflection" at the RDS Concert Hall which is just a short distance from the U.S. Embassy in Ballsbridge.
The president, Mary McAleese, and taoiseach, Enda Kenny, were among the dignitaries at the memorial, attended by former New York Police Department lieutenant William Cosgrove and New York firemen Michael O'Rourke, Thomas O'Rourke and Chief Dan Daly.
McAleese told those at the ceremony that the horror of 9/11 still had a "chilling immediacy."
"The television pictures are etched on our minds and the tide of grief has never ebbed," she said.
"Ireland stood then, as we stand today, shoulder to shoulder with our friends and family in the United States.
"We share our remembering as an act of solidarity with all those who were bereaved or injured, and with all those who gave their lives or sacrificed their health in order to help; for if terrorism manifested the meticulously planned worst of human nature that day, there were surely so many others who with no more than a heartbeat to decide, displayed a selfless generosity and spontaneous courage of astounding depth."
McAleese offered the country's renewed condolences and prayers to the bereaved and injured, and abiding respect to the emergency personnel.
"We have always been so proud of Ireland's longstanding association with America's police and fire departments. On that day of days, your ready heroism showed us so clearly the source of that pride."
