Can a man still be brave if he's afraid? That's the only time a man can be brave

This week, I'd like to discuss the concept of courage, bravery, heroism and dedication to duty. And no, it's not connected with any calls to pull on the green jersey, or perhaps another jersey with black, red and yellow stripes uber alles. There is an international dimension, but also a local angle. As an introduction, we reproduce some of the radio conversation between Captain Francesco Schettino, late of the Costa Concordia and Italian Coastguard captain, Gregorio De Falco. Coast Guard: Listen, Schettino. There are people trapped on board. Now, you go with your lifeboat. Under the bow of the ship, on the right side, there is a ladder. You climb on that ladder and go on board the ship. Go on board the ship and get back to me and tell me how many people are there. Is that clear? I am recording this conversation, Captain Schettino. Captain: At this moment the ship is listing. Coast Guard: There are people who are coming down the ladder on the bow. Go back in the opposite direction, get back on the ship and tell me how many people there are and what they have on board. Tell me if there are children, women and what type of help they need. And you tell me the number of each of these categories. Is that clear? Listen Schettino, perhaps you have saved yourself from the sea but I will make you look very bad. I will make you pay for this. Dammit, go back on board! Captain: Please.... Coast Guard: There is no 'please' about it. Get back on board. Assure me you are going back on board! Captain: I'm in a lifeboat, I am under here. I am not going anywhere. I am here. Captain: Do you realise that it is dark and we can't see anything. Coast Guard: So, what do you want to do, to go home, Schettino? It's dark and you want to go home? Go to the bow of the ship where the ladder is and tell me what needs to be done, how many people there are, and what they need. Now! Afterwards, there were attempts to portray De Falco as a latter-day knight in shining armour. However, he brushes that off. "I'm not a hero, don't play with me. I just tried to do my duty, as it was right to do," he said. The hapless Schettino's career, like his ship, now appears to be marooned on the rocks off Giglio. Contrast his actions that fateful night to those of Captain Henrik Kurt Carlsen who made world headlines in January 1952 when his vessel, Flying Enterprise, loaded with antique furniture, cars, US mail, coffee beans and pig iron, ran into trouble in the wildest December storm in 22 years on the approaches to the English Channel. As the winds kept rising and the vessel cracked her hull. She rolled on her side and was unable to get back upright. The pig iron shifted in the vessel, pitching the ship at a crazy angle. Carlsen's first duty was to get 10 passengers off but because rescue ships could not approach in the treacherous seas. He ordered people to don lifejackets and jump. He stayed on the sinking ship, refusing all entreaties by the owners to leave. After seven terrifying days clinging to the vessel, Enterprise was hit by another storm and he and the first mate of another rescue ship, Kenneth Dancy, jumped for their lives. Shortly afterwards, the Enterprise went under. When Carlsen reached Falmouth after the sinking, they tried to make a hero out of him but he said it was just his job and he turned down many offers of promotion in advertising schemes. On terra firma, there is the case of Sergeant (later Inspector) Brendan Keyes, now deceased, who took part in one of the most dramatic scenes in Navan in March 1978 when two armed men made off with £28,000 from the Bank of Ireland branch at Trimgate Street. Armed only with a four-foot wooden plank, Sergeant Keyes confronted one of the men, who pulled a gun and fired at him. He missed and fragments from a granite stone in the bank's facade struck the sergeant in the shoulder. As they drove away, the robbers fired more shots at pursuing gardai. The raiders were later sentenced to 20 years' penal servitude. Brendan Keyes was awarded a Scott Medal for bravery in the line of duty. These are ordinary people doing an ordinary job but often in extraordinary circumstances. Who knows how the rest of us might react in similar situations?