Ms Rose Carthy wept continuously as she told the tribunal yesterday about the events leading up to the fatal shooting of her son John.
A frail Ms Carthy appeared near collapse as she was helped into the witness box by her daughter Ms Marie Carthy. She started to weep as soon as she began her evidence.
Some time after 4 p.m. on Spy Wednesday, the day before his death, Mr Carthy went to the gun cabinet in the house and removed his shotgun, gun belt and some cartridges. "He came back into the kitchen and said that no one was going to put him out of his house," Ms Carthy said. The old house on the Carthy land was due for demolition as a new house had been built.
"He just went outside and let off two shots and came back in." Ms Carthy told the tribunal she was not worried by the shots. When Mr Carthy returned to the house the gun was broken open and at no time was the gun loaded inside the house.
Mr Carthy told his mother to go to her sister Nancy Walsh's house "for a visit" but he did not "put her out of the house" she said. This was the last time she saw her son alive. Ms Carthy left the house and went to her sister's house. She said she was not frightened for her own safety, but that "John might harm himself".
Ms Carthy told the tribunal she remembered very little of the conversations that followed with family or gardaí who came to the Walsh's house.
However, she said she did remember that the gardaí tried to reassure her. "They said he'd be all right. That's why I called them. I wanted them to help him. I didn't want him killed."
