The funeral Masses of Garda Brian Kelleher and firefighter Michael Liston took place in Dromin and Foynes, Co Limerick yesterday.
The two men were killed when they were struck by a car driven by a young man as they attended the scene of another collision on the N69 between Foynes and Askeaton at 5.15am on Sunday.
President Mary McAleese and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern were represented at the both funerals. In Dublin the flag on Leinster House flew at half mast.
At the Mass for Garda Kelleher (46), parish priest Fr Tony Mullins called on motorists to assist gardaí and the emergency services by changing their attitude to road safety. He said people often took for granted the service provided by An Garda Síochána and the emergency services such as the fire brigade. People should be conscious of the risks they took on an almost daily basis in order to help the community.
"The gardaí and the various agencies involved in road safety need our support to bring about this change of attitude. Otherwise the pain and sadness that we have come to know these past few days will continue to be someone else's grief and heartache tomorrow."
Garda Kelleher's coffin, draped in the Tricolour and bearing his garda hat, was carried by gardaí from the Church of the Holy Trinity in Dromin past a guard of honour en route to the local cemetery.
Garda Kelleher is survived by his wife, Marie, and three sons.
Minister for Transport Martin Cullen represented the Government. Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy, Deputy Commissioner Martin Callanan and Assistant Commissioner Ray McAndrew were among the hundreds of garda mourners.
Meanwhile, over 600 firemen formed a guard of honour in Foynes when Mr Liston's remains were brought from his home to St Senan's Church. Lieut Col Tony Daly represented the Minister for Defence, Willie O'Dea, and Minster of State Batt O'Keeffe represented the Minister for the Environment.
In a tribute to a man described by colleagues as a "tower of strength", Michael Donnellan, station officer at Foynes where Mr Liston (47) worked for 20 years, reiterated that this was a life that should not have been lost and pleaded for young drivers not to be allowed behind the wheel of powerful cars. "If people had to face ringing that doorbell last Sunday morning I don't think they'd drive many cars . . . So think about it, the doorbell ringing in the morning, a garda, a priest and a fireman waiting outside, that's the thought to take away from today," he said.
Mr Liston is survived by his wife, Bernadette, and four children.