![\"Ministry](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/army-officer-killed-in-training-sought-to-serve-common-good-funeral-told.jpg\")
The Ministry of Defence paid tribute (Tim Ireland\/PA)<\/p>\nA British Army officer killed in a training incident took up his call \u201cto serve the common good of humanity\u201d, mourners have been told at his funeral service in Ireland.<\/p>\n
Captain Philip Gilbert Muldowney, 25, died on Sunday, January 25th, following an incident at Otterburn Training Area in Northumberland, one of the UK\u2019s largest army training ranges.<\/p>\n
The officer, who grew up in Co Roscommon, served as a fire support commander within 129 (Dragon) Battery of the 4th Regiment Royal Artillery.<\/p>\n
The UK ministry of defence said Capt Muldowney was an \u201cimmensely enthusiastic officer who embraced life with a vigour that inspired those around him\u201d.<\/p>\n
Known locally as Gilbert, Capt Muldowney grew up in Ballinameen, near Boyle, after his family moved there from Dublin when he was a child.<\/p>\n
His father, David, is a permanent deacon in the Diocese of Elphin.<\/p>\n
At St Attracta\u2019s Church, Ballinameen Bishop Kevin Doran told those gathered Capt Muldowney brought \u201cjoy and hope\u201d to those around him.<\/p>\n
His colleagues and friends from the Army who Bishop Doran said \u201cwere closest to him at the time of his death\u201d were at the service on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Defence paid tribute (Tim Ireland\/PA)<\/p>\n
Reverend Captain Henry Afful was in attendance alongside Colonel Sean Grant, defence attache to the British embassy, Colonel Harry Waller, commanding officer in the Fourth Regiment Royal Artillery and Colonel William Tulloch, First Battalion Scots Guards Commander.<\/p>\n
Mr Muldowney\u2019s coffin was carried into the chapel by uniformed officers.<\/p>\n
There were also representatives from the Irish Defence Forces and Mr Muldowney\u2019s local GAA club.<\/p>\n
Bishop Doran who carried out the service said the community were sharing stories about Captain Muldowney as they mourned his loss.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cStories are told.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany stories have been told about Gilbert over cups of tea and coffee, and many more will be told before the day is out, stories of his escapades and of his commitment, his interest in archery and brewing, to mention but a few.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cI heard the story of Gilbert\u2019s mobile phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cTucked away in the cover of his phone, which was with him, was a tiny laminated card on it was a short passage from the Gospel according to Matthew, which has since been traced back to a clipping taken from his pocket Bible at home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bishop Doran continued: \u201cWe do live, as Jesus said, in a time when there are wars and rumours of wars.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an anxious time, not least for soldiers and for the families of soldiers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI suppose soldiers train for war in the hope that it will never come.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey prepare so that others may live in peace.<\/p>\n
\u201cJesus encourages us not to lose hope in the face of all that is wrong in the world.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018The end is not yet\u2019 was a central part of that Gospel passage which Gilbert had underlined.<\/p>\n
\u201cI take this to refer to the fact that Jesus has a mission for each of us, and that all of us, women and men, soldiers and civilians alike, are called to serve the common good of humanity.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe who endures to the end will be saved with these words, Jesus reminds us that our ultimate good is achieved not by seeking our own glory, but by laying down our lives for one another.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among the items brought to the altar during the service were walking boots as a symbol of his love of the mountains, a longbow handmade by Capt Muldowney, his favourite book The Count Of Monte Cristo, and his St Christopher\u2019s medal as a \u201csymbol of his love of jewellery, his faith and his delight in travelling\u201d.<\/p>\n
Bishop Doran added: \u201cWe\u2019re called to give our hearts to Jesus, who said to live by his word, it can take a whole lifetime, but as we have seen in Gilbert\u2019s case, a lifetime sometimes has to be fitted into a few short years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe give thanks today for all that Gilbert achieved in such a short space of time, for all the joy and hope he brought to his family and friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
Capt Muldowney joined the Army on January 5 2020, commissioning into the Royal Artillery on December 11 2020 after attending the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.<\/p>\n
He graduated from Elphin Community College in 2019 and the school\u2019s principal Anne Gilleran said Captain Muldowney \u201cis spoken of with enormous respect and affection by staff who knew him well\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a small school, those memories endure, and Gilbert\u2019s contribution to Elphin Community College is remembered with great pride,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cElphin Community College has a long-standing tradition of displaying photographs of its head students.<\/p>\n
\u201cGilbert\u2019s photograph hangs above the main entrance to the school, where it stands as a quiet reminder of the standards, character and generosity of spirit he brought to our community.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A British Army officer killed in a training incident took up his call \u201cto serve the common good…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":286944,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-286943","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286943"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286943\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/286944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}