Serving and retired firefighters from New York and Ireland formed a guard of honour on a beach in Co Waterford, around a sand art portrait of a little girl who died from cancer.
The artwork at Kilmurrin Cove by Seán Corcoran depicts Aoibheann Norman, who died of cancer in 2010, when she was eight years old.
Firefighters from the National Retained Firefighters Association of Ireland (NRFA), together with colleagues from New York, stopped at the sand portrait during a charity cycle ride from Dublin to Cork.
They applauded as Aoibheann's father Jimmy walked onto the beach to see the artwork for the first time.
Mr Corcoran said her father "told me that the photo I was working from was taken on Aoibheann's first day of school. We were against the clock trying to complete the portrait between the showers and the returning tide and we just about managed to get it done as the crew and cyclists arrived."
"Aoibheann would have been 23 now if she had survived cancer. Somehow, I think I’ve captured something of a timeless portrait of her."
The charity cycle marks the 23rd anniversary of the 11 September attacks and Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
It is raising funds for Friends of Firefighters New York and children's cancer charity Aoibheann's Pink Tie.
