Samuel F. Irish
Officer

Samuel F. Irish

Indianapolis Police Department — Indianapolis, IN
Accident
End of Watch June 7, 1909
Age 60
The Vigil Panel 23 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer Samuel Irish died as the result of heat stroke, which he suffered four years earlier while walking his beat.

Officers were were required to wear a wool tunic as part of their summer uniform. He was walking his beat near the Atlas Engine Works, near the intersection of modern-day Dr. Andrew J. Brown Avenue and E 19th Street, on one of the hottest days of the year when he was overcome by heat. He was taken home but was never able to return to full duty.

His health continued to deteriorate until he passed away on June 7th, 1909.

Officer Irish was survived by his wife and four children.

Survivors

Officer Irish was survived by his wife and four children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-IN-971233AE
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Officer Irish served with the Indianapolis Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Indianapolis community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Irish.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Type Other
Location Indianapolis, Marion County, IN
Platform Identity ipd.marion.in.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch June 7, 1909
Age 60
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident
Cause Detail Heatstroke

Officer Samuel F. Irish is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In IN, 151 of 503 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30% of this state's fallen. That is 30 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Indianapolis Police Department, 19 of 59 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32.2% of this agency's fallen.

Indianapolis Police Department
19
of 59 officers
32.2% Accident
IN — Statewide
151
of 503 officers
30% Accident
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Samuel F. Irish's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How Samuel F. Irish Compares

Age at Death
60
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Samuel F. Irish is highlighted in Jun.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
708
May
848
Jun
797
Jul
899
Aug
938
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location