Gardaí were in 'close contact' with Donaldson before death

Gardaí were in "close communication" with former British spy and Sinn Féin official Denis Donaldson before his death, the chief superintendent leading the murder investigation revealed today.

Chief Supt Terry McGinn confirmed gardaí made contact with him in January. The former Sinn Féin official moved to Co Donegal after admitting in December that he had been a British agent for 20 years.

Speaking to reporters outside Glenties Garda station today, Chief Supt McGinn said: "We made ourselves known to Mr Donaldson, we introduced ourselves, we offered him our facilities here in terms of whatever protection he needed and we have been in close communication with him".

Earlier the Taoiseach told the Dáil that Mr Donaldson was warned by gardaí in January that his life may be in danger and his house was routinely checked by officers.

Mr Ahern said the 55-year-old was last seen by gardaí in Glenties at 5pm on Monday, about 24 hours before he was found murdered in his remote cottage. Later Supt McGinn said he had been seen by a member of the public yesterday morning near his house.

Gardaí found Mr Donaldson dead inside his cottage after a member of the public noticed his door open and dialled 999.

Roadblocks were set up across Co Donegal within minutes of the discovery of the body at about 5pm.

He had suffered two shot gun wounds, one to the head and one which almost severed his hand from his arm. Mr Donaldson's body has been taken from the scene, which is being forensically examined. A post mortem is due to take place later today and results will be revealed later.

The IRA said in a statement last night it was not involved in the killing and both Dublin and London were quick to make it clear that neither government was initially pointing the finger at the mainstream republican movement.

In an interview last night, Sinn Féin chief negotiator Martin McGuinness said those who carried out the murder were opposed to the peace process. There were number of groups who stood to benefit from the fall-out of the "brutal murder".

The DUP leader the Rev Ian Paisley, however, said a finger of suspicion had to be pointed towards the IRA.

Describing the murder as "evil", Mr Ahern told the Dáil it was a "brutal reminder of Northern Ireland's tortured and tragic past and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms".

He said gardaí became aware of Mr Donaldson's presence in Co Donegal in January and "visited him in the light of the public attention which he received and they advised him because of the circumstances, there was a perceived element of threat to his life."

An aerial shot of the house where Mr Donaldson was killed yesterday

On who might have carried out the killing, Mr Ahern said: "I have no idea at this stage who could have been or would have been involved.

"Mr Donaldson would have had plenty of people who would have had an interest in him in one form or other. But whoever who was responsible for this evil deed was certainly no friend of the peace process."

Denis Donaldson

He surmised that it could have been "blind and bitter retribution" but noted it had been denied by republicans.

He said the two governments "will not be deterred from efforts to bring politics centre stage in Northern Ireland so [British Prime Minister] Tony Blair and I will travel to Armagh tomorrow and get on with it."

The two leaders plan to announce the restoration of the Northern Assembly for a six-month period in the hope that a powersharing Executive can be established this year.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny described the killing as a "cold, callous and vicious murder", while Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte offered support to the Taoiseach in efforts to restore devolution to Northern Ireland.

Mr Blair described the killing as "a serious, appalling, barbaric act". "The timing of this does suggest that whoever did this wants to derail the peace process. Our response should be to deny them what they want," he said. "Sometimes these things can be perpetrated by people in disagreement with their leadership." He added that if the IRA was responsible, it would have "serious implications".