Paddy (Pigeon number NPS.43.9451)^[1] was an Irish carrier pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal after being the fastest pigeon to arrive back in England with news of the success of the D-Day invasion, out of hundreds dispatched. He flew 230 miles (370 km) across the English Channel in four hours and fifty minutes,^[2] the fastest recorded crossing, and was awarded the medal on 1 September 1944, just under three months after the crossing.^[3] Paddy was trained by Andrew Hughes of Carnlough and is the only animal in Ireland to be awarded this medal.^[4]

The medal citation reads,

"For the best recorded time with a message from the Normandy Operations, while serving with the RAF in June, 1944."

His medal was sold at auction for almost £7,000 in September 1999.^[5]