Canada’s ambassador to Ireland tackled a protester who interrupted a memorial service in Dublin on Thursday.

“During a ceremony to remember British soldiers who died during the Easter Rising in 1916, Ambassador Kevin Vickers intercepted a protester who ran up to the podium,” Global Affairs Canada said in a statement.

Vickers was sergeant-at-arms at the House of Commons when Michael Zehaf-Bibeau stormed Parliament Hill after killing a soldier outside in October 2014. He shot Zehaf-Bibeau dead.

Vickers was named Canada’s ambassador to Ireland in January 2015.

Thursday’s incident occurred at a wreath-laying ceremony at Grangegorman Military Cemetery, which honoured British soldiers who died during the Easter Rising, when an armed rebellion of Irish Republicans tried to create an independent Irish state.

Wearing a “Justice for the Craigavon” T-shirt, the man ran towards the dignitaries, shouting “It’s a disgrace,” an eyewitness told the Independent. The Craigavon is a contested area of Northern Ireland that was a hotbed for violence during the Troubles.

“The whole thing lasted about a minute. The Canadian ambassador grabbed him. There was a struggle and (police) wrestled him to the ground,” the unnamed witness told the Independent.

“Without hesitation he (Vickers) jumped out from the middle of dignitaries.”

Vickers was representing Canada as a guest of the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Charles Flanagan, Global Affairs said in a statement.

The protester was arrested by Irish police, Global Affairs said.

On social media, both Canadians and Irish praised his quick reflexes and heralded him as a “bad ass.”

But not everyone was impressed. Some people in Ireland expressed concern that a foreign official would physically tackle a protester.

How people in Ireland reacted on social media