Carthy family still seeks answers after report

The family of the late John Carthy, who was shot dead by armed garda officers at Abbeylara in 2000, have said they still require answers so they can move on with their lives.

Responding to the publication of Mr Justice Robert Barr's report into the tragedy today, Mr Carthy's sister Marie Carthy said: "To this day my family believes that there was no just cause to fatally shoot John."

"For over six years since the untimely death of John, we have sought answers to bring closure to this harrowing chapter of our lives. We need answers so that we can try and move on with our own lives. Perhaps, most importantly, we need answers so that this tragedy never happens to another family ever again."

The full initial statement issued by the family through solicitor Peter Mullan of Garrett Sheehan & Company Solicitors today is as follows:

"The Carthy family welcomes the report of Mr. Justice Barr. The family's only concern in the past six years has been to establish the truth behind the fatal shooting of John by the gardaí.

During the intervening six years no one, at any level within the gardaí, has accepted responsibility for John's death.

Now that Justice Barr has issued his report the gross negligence and incompetence displayed during the siege has been laid bare.

After six long years the truth has been established and it is incumbent on those responsible for the series of errors to be held to account.

What emerges from the report is a train of events, that begun with the physical abuse of John in Granard Garda station and ended in John's death on 20th April 2000.

The chairman correctly identifies John's death as a disaster and something that would not have occurred had things been done right.

John, who was unwell, was surrounded by a large force of Gardai from Assistant Commissioner down, nearly all of whom had had firearms and firearms training.

He emerged from his house 25 hours after the impasse began.

The gardaí had plans for such an eventuality, or so they say.

Upon exiting and until his death, John Carthy fired no shot at the many gardaí who were beside, in front and behind him.

The reason advanced by the gardaí for shooting John dead was the perceived danger that he would discharge the one cartridge left in his shotgun at the Gardai who had bolted for cover around the command post, at the junction of John Carthy's property.

Had they not been there - there was and would have been - no just cause to shot John, or to shoot him dead. Mr Justice Barr has found so.

The Culligan Report admitted to only one possible error on the part of the gardaí at Abbeylara. Mr Justice Barr's report identifies 23 command failures by Gardai at Abbeylara. It also identifies 14 individual failures by the Garda negotiator.

Today Garda representatives claimed that the decisions that led to John's death occurred within seconds.

However, during the siege that gardaí had 25 hours to prepare and plan for a peaceful end to the impasse.

In addition each member, especially the armed members of the force present, supposedly has training to ensure that they carry out their duties with discipline and foresight.

The Tribunal report clearly demonstrates that the gardaí failed totally in this regard and Justice Barr rightly identifies this incompetence and negligence as being ultimately responsible for the tragic killing of John Carthy.

It is regrettable that in face of the findings of Justice Barr it seems that the gardaí are still not prepared to accept responsibility for what happened at Abbeylara.

Main Findings (as outlined in the Carthy family statement):

Point 1: Overall command of the scene at Abbeylara.

P. 436

'If there had been no vehicles or police or anyone else visible to John Carthy as he walked towards Abbeylara, there would have been no reason or justification for shooting him in the back...primary police negligence at Abbeylara was failure to prepare for the eventuality that John Carthy might emerge from his premises.'

P456

'I am satisfied that responsibility for his (John Carthy) death rest primarily with the scene commanders and to a lesser extent with the ERU tactical commander for reasons stated elsewhere in this chapter.'

The family of John Carthy concurs with Judge Barr's scathing criticism of Garda command at the scene in Abbeylara.

The Judge identifies 23 individual command failures at the scene.

In particular the Report rightly identifies the complete failure of the Gardai to plan for the exit of John from the house as a 'fundamental mistake'.

The failure of the Garda commanders to plan for this eventuality, combined with other critical errors, led to a situation where within a matter of seconds of John's exit from the house, gardaí at the scene, who were lacking critical intelligence evidence, were confronted with an unforeseen situation and John was shot due to that lack of foresight.

We strongly concur with the finding of Justice Barr that, 'it is evident that the foregoing failures gave rise to the fatal shooting of Mr. Carthy.' (p. 440)

Point 2:

John's attitude towards the gardaí had its roots in an assault in Granard garda station.

'It appears that John Carthy was probably subjected to physical abuse while under interrogation by Garda Bruen and Garda McHugh at Granard station on the night of the 23rd September.'

John's antagonism towards the gardaí was directly related to his false arrest, detention and interrogation over the 'Mascot' incident in 1998. Justice Barr finds that John was probably physically assaulted while in Garda custody, as well as being wrongly accused of the crime.

Point 3:

Failure to contact John's GP was directly related to the mascot incidence.

Justice Barr clearly identifies the failure of Superintendent Shelly to adequately interview Dr. Cullen as 'extraordinary' (p 437).

Justice Barr concludes that the likely explanation for this failure was to ensure that embarrassing information regarding John's arrest and detention and his subsequent antagonism towards the Gardai did not become known to a wider circle.

Point 4:Failure to accede to John's request for a solicitor

Again we strongly concur with Mr. Justice Barr's finding that the failure to contact a solicitor during the siege was 'patently negligent' (p. 441). Given John's justifiable antagonism to the Gardai, and the disregard demonstrated at the scene by members of the Gardai it is beyond belief that John was not granted access to a solicitor, especially as John had indicated to his friend Kevin Ireland that the presence of a solicitor might end the impasse.

In addition John's family was never informed of his request for a solicitor.

We agree with the Judge's finding that one explanation for this failure was that a solicitor would be less amenable to orchestration by the Gardai and his presence would be 'discomforting' (p.447).

Point 5:Failure to gather intelligence and specifically the failure to interview Kevin Ireland.

John's friend Kevin Ireland spoke to him on April 20th.

Superintendent Shelly and Sergeant Jackson learned about the conversation 'by way of an inaccurate and garbled forth-hand version of it.' (p. 438)

The failure to consult Kevin Ireland properly is just one of a number of intelligence failures identified by Justice Barr .

Significantly Justice Barr identifies this intelligence failure as critical when John exited the house.

In conclusion, I and Marie, on behalf of the family, would like to express our gratitude to Mr. Justice Barr for his forthright findings in this report and the courtesy he demonstrated throughout the Tribunal.

Statement by Marie Carthy, sister of the deceased

"John Carthy was a beloved son, brother, nephew, cousin, neighbour and friend.

Those who knew John best would remember him as been a great character. He had a fantastic sense of humour. John was a very intelligent, gentle and hard-working young man.

In John's free time he enjoyed many sports, in particular handball and football.

He enjoyed socialising with his many friends and was always the life and soul of every occasion.

Like so many people worldwide, John did experience depression. Right now over 300,000 Irish people suffer from depression.

In April 2000, at the age of 27, John was shot dead by members of the Garda Síochána.

To lose my only brother in such horrific circumstances was simply heartbreaking.

Words could not describe the unbearable pain and suffering John's unnecessary death has caused our family.

Life has never been the same for us since John died. John's death has left a huge emptiness in our lives, which will remain forever.

To this day, my family believe that there was no just cause to fatally shoot John.

For over six years since the untimely death of John, we have sought answers to bring closure to this harrowing chapter of our lives.

We need answers so that we can try and move on with our own lives.

Perhaps most importantly, we need answers so that this tragedy never happens to another family again.

It is not just our family, neighbours and friends who demand answers to these questions:

We have received tremendous support from countless ordinary members of the public, including from abroad, who were shocked and horrified at John's death.

They too want answers.

This public solidarity with our search for justice has been very important to us and we would like to thank all those who supported us over the past six long years.

Today marks an important milestone in a long process for our family.

We have witnessed the inquest into John's death, the internal Garda 'inquiry'; the establishment and subsequent collapse of the Dail Sub-Committee inquiry and finally the Tribunal chaired by Justice Barr .

I would like to put on record our appreciation for the dedication, courtesy and respect that Justice Barr and his team showed to us and our legal team at all stages of the tribunal.

Finally, I would like thank our legal team, and in particular our solicitor, Peter Mullan from Garrett Sheehan Solicitors and Co., who have worked tirelessly over the past six years in our search for justice.

Today we are only in a position to provide our initial response to Justice Barr's report.

It is a substantial report, and has taken some time to draft and publish.

Over the coming days and weeks we will be examining all of its recommendations and observations."