Miramichi family, friends proud of hometown hero Kevin Vickers

Family and friends in Miramichiare proud of their hometown heroKevin Vickers, who once again made headlines after taking down a protester at an event in Dublin on Thursday.

Vickers, who is Canada's Ambassador to Ireland, was at theremembrance ceremonywhen amale protesterstood upand could be heard yelling, "This is an insult."

He's very humble, very quiet, very reserved and carries himself with a lot of class and he certainly doesn't do this for the spotlight I can guarantee you that.- Paddy Quinn

"We were all kind of surprised, to put it mildly, that a dignitary kind of beat the Irish police in wrestling this guy to the ground," ColinKeegan, a photographer covering the event, told CBC New Brunswick'sShift.

"I have to hand it to him. It was impressive he was in action within a split second of it happening."

RAW: Kevin Vickers tackles protester in Dublin

8 years ago

Duration 0:45

Former House sergeant-at-arms, now ambassador to Ireland, takes down protestor at ceremony

Vickers, who is a former RCMP officer and the former House of Commons sergeant-at-arms, was recognized across the country after shooting Ottawa gunmanMichael Zehaf-Bibeauwhostormed Parliament Hill in 2014.

'Kevin is a take charge kind of guy'

John Vickers says he was not surprised to hear how his brother had stepped up on Thursday.

"Kevin is a take charge kind of guy," he said.

"It doesn't surprise me that if a protester was interrupting such a solemn ceremony with many dignitaries in attendance that he would roll up his sleeves and dispatch the individual from the area ... it sounds like Kevinbeing Kevin."

Information Morning - Moncton6:20Vickers... Kevin Vickers

Canada's ambassador to Ireland and former Sergeant-at-Arms removed a protester from a remembrance ceremony in Dublin. Folks in his hometown of Miramichi react.Paddy Quinn, president of the Miramichi Irish Festival, says people in the city are proud of how Vickers stands up to protect others.

"There's a lot of pride in what Mr. Vickers did and has done and how he serves our country and represents our community so I think pride sums it up. People are just proud of how he conducts himself."

Some have been critical of Vickers and his actions in Dublin, saying he was out of order and had no right to attack an Irish citizen, but Quinn says he disagrees.

"Aman with his training and with his his spideysensesso to speak, he went up and he did what he thought he had to do," Quinn told Information Morning Moncton.

"The Kevin Vickers I've come to know in the last couple of years ... he's very humble, very quiet, very reserved and carries himself with a lot of class and he certainly doesn't do this for the spotlight I can guarantee you that."

John Vickers agrees, saying his brother never seeks notoriety, only sets out to do his job to the best of his ability every day.