Det Garda Ben O'Sullivan broke down at the Special Criminal Court yesterday as he told of the no-warning gun attack that left him seriously wounded and his partner, Det Garda Jerry McCabe, dead.
Det Garda O'Sullivan broke down several times while giving evidence of his ordeal when he and Det Garda McCabe were gunned down in an unmarked Garda car at Adare in Co Limerick on June 7th, 1996.
He said that after a gunman fired shots which hit him in the shoulder he realised Jerry McCabe was "in great difficulty".
"His hand was contorting, his arm was blue and white. When the shooting ceased I heard shouting but I had no idea what was being said. I called Jerry three or four times . I said, `Jerry, Jerry, Jerry'. There was no response. I then put my small finger on my left hand into his wrist. There was no pulse. The pulse was absent."
Det Garda O'Sullivan, who spent four days in intensive care as a result of his injuries, was giving evidence on the second day of the trial of four men accused of the capital murder of Det Garda McCabe (53), a father of five. They have denied the charge, which carries a mandatory sentence of 40 years' imprisonment.
The four men are Mr Pearse McCauley (34), from Strabane, Co Tyrone, with no fixed address, and three Co Limerick men, Mr Jeremiah Sheehy (36), of Abbey Park, Rathkeale; Mr Michael O'Neill (46), of Lisheen Park, Patrickswell; and Mr Kevin Walsh (42), also of Lisheen Park, Patrickswell.
They also pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of Det Garda O'Sullivan; to having firearms and ammunition with intent to endanger life; to conspiracy to commit a robbery in Adare between June 5th and 8th, 1996.
They also pleaded not guilty to unlawfully having two rifles, a handgun and shotgun at Clonolea, Toomevara, Nenagh, Co Tipperary on June 7th, 1996 and to possession of three shotgun cartridges at Clonolea on the same date.
A fifth man also denies charges connected with the murder and attempted robbery. Mr John Quinn (30), of Faha, Patrickswell, Co Limerick denied unlawfully having ammunition at Patrickswell on June 6th, 1996 and conspiring to commit a robbery at Adare.
Det Garda O'Sullivan told Mr Paul O'Higgins SC, prosecuting, that he joined the Garda in 1964 and was posted to William Street in Limerick, where he worked until 1977, when he was transferred to Henry Street. He joined the detective branch in November 1972. When asked by counsel if anyone else had joined the detective branch on the same day he said "Detective Garda Jerry McCabe", before breaking down. When he resumed his evidence, Det Garda O'Sullivan said his normal duties included "dealing with subversives, escort and protection for VIPs, investigation of major crimes, escorts of cash in transit and bank protection".
He said he and Det Garda McCabe were detailed to escort a post office SDS truck making cash deliveries in the Limerick area on June 7th, 1996. They used an unmarked blue Mondeo patrol car and he said the car was recognisable as a Garda car because of its two aerials and its Dublin registration number.
Det Garda O'Sullivan said he drove behind the SDS truck and they reached Adare, their first stop, at 6.50 a.m. The SDS truck stopped outside the post office and he pulled up behind it. Mr Willy Jackson, the truck driver, opened the back door of the truck, and he looked in his mirror and saw a jeep approaching from the rear. He saw two people with their heads covered with balaclavas in the front of the jeep and he thought that they were "a threat".
"I shouted to Jerry: `Oh Jesus, Jerry'." Det Garda O'Sullivan said the next thing he remembers is that they were struck from behind by the jeep with a strong impact. "I was driven forward. I regained my composure and looked out the driver's window. I saw two men armed with guns. At this stage they were about four yards from the driver's door.
"They were wearing dark balaclavas, dressed in black and green camouflage battle-dress. They carried what appeared to be Kalashnikov rifles. I have seen them but I have never used them. I know that subversive groups use them. They had the guns pointed at us. They trained them on our car but they were still moving, moving very energetically.
"In an instant without any warning, without any opportunity for us to protect the SDS van one of them opened fire. It was automatic fire. The first blast struck me on the right shoulder. The second blast blew my hands off the steering wheel and I was forced on to the handbrake. The driver's window blew in around me."
Det Garda O'Sullivan said the fire was automatic fire and there was silence between each blast. He said Jerry McCabe was in the passenger seat. "I saw Jerry's hands going into a spasm. I was conscious. I was conscious that Jerry was in great difficulty."
People were shouting from outside the car: "Hang on there Ben, help is coming." He said Mr Jackson put his hand in to try and get the radio but he got the wrong one and he gave him the correct radio. He also remembered mentioning that his blood group was O positive to speed up the availability of blood transfusion.
Det Garda O'Sullivan said he was taken to Limerick Regional Hospital where he spent four days in intensive care. He said he received bullet wounds to the thumb and fingers on his left hand and to fingers on his right hand. He had a bullet wound below his right eye, a graze one-and-a-half inches long. He also had two bullet wounds on either side of his head, a bullet graze on his right thigh.
He suffered two bullet wounds to the shoulder, one of which exited half an inch from his spinal column and the other one halfway through his shoulder blade. He also suffered a broken arm which could not be attributed to a bullet wound and which was possibly the result of the ramming by the jeep.
Det Garda O'Sullivan said he knew three of the accused, Mr O'Neill, Mr Walsh and Mr Sheehy, and knew the two other accused to see. He said these men knew him and Det Garda McCabe and knew they were gardai and that they were using an official patrol car.
Mr Jackson said that after he stopped in Adare he opened the truck door and he heard a bang and saw that a jeep had crashed into the back of the Garda escort car. He saw three men dressed in army fatigues and they had Kalashnikovs.
The gunmen appeared to shoot into the patrol car. He said there were a number of bangs and he jumped off the truck. He moved towards a door and he added: "I thought I was going to die" He then saw the gunmen getting into a silver car which pulled up beside the truck and he thought he heard one of the men say: "go, go."
Mr Jackson said he tried to use his mobile phone to call for help but could not get a signal. He went to the Garda escort car and saw Det Garda McCabe with his head slumped on his chest. "He appeared to be dead." He also thought Det Garda O'Sullivan was dead but then Det Garda O'Sullivan told him he had the wrong microphone for the Garda radio and he knew he was still alive.
Miss Elizabeth Twomey, the postmistress in Adare, said she was in her bedroom getting dressed when she heard a bang followed almost immediately by shots. She looked out her window on to the main street and saw one man with a balaclava at the driver's door of the Garda car. She also saw another man wearing a balaclava.
She rang 999 and then went to help Garda McCabe, who appeared to be dead. She got towels and blankets to assist him. Mr Gerry Hanrahan, who was living in Adare in June 1996, said he was giving a neighbour a lift to the Dunraven Arms Hotel when they heard a bang. He saw a number of gunmen dressed in dark clothing and one of them appeared to be firing into the car.
He drove on to the hotel and then went back to the main street where a car pulled across the road and someone threw a mobile phone into his lap and said: "Use it. They are killing guards up there."