“In the name of France, I would like to thank you. The whole world admires your bravery. It should be an example to all of us and inspire us. You put your lives at risk in order to defend freedom.”

Those were the words of President Francois Hollande during a recent ceremony to honour three Americans and a Briton who thwarted a suspected terror attack on a Paris-bound train.

The three Americans, Spencer Stone, Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler, and British man Chris Norman were presented with one of France’s highest awards, the Legion d’honneur, at the Elysee Palace.

The four men, and two others who asked to remain anonymous, overpowered a suspected radical Islamist, 25-year-old Moroccan Ayoub El-Khazzani, on the high-speed train.

El-Khazzani has denied any involvement with terrorism, stating that he found the weapons in a park in Belgium and wanted to rob the train passengers. But he has been on the French authorities’ watch list since February 2014 when he was reported by Spanish counterparts. He is also suspected to have travelled to Syria.

Metro Éireann would like to join President Hollande in celebrating the train heroes for the risk they took putting their own lives on the line to save so many others. Without subduing the gunman, there’s no accounting for how many people would be mourning over the lost of loved ones.

As Sadler said during a press conference after the incident: “I want that lesson to be learned, in times of terror like that, to please do something. Don’t just stand by and watch.”