Reynolds to visit Abbeylara to investigate Garda shooting

The former Taoiseach Mr Albert Reynolds TD will visit Abbeylara, Co Longford, today to make inquiries about the fatal shooting…

The former Taoiseach Mr Albert Reynolds TD will visit Abbeylara, Co Longford, today to make inquiries about the fatal shooting of Mr John Carthy by gardai.

Mr Reynolds, one of two Co Longford TDs, told The Irish Times he would reserve comment on whether the Garda should publish the results of an inquiry into the shooting until he made his own inquiries.

"I'm going down there tomorrow and I'll see what I can find out about it before I make pronouncements on the matter," he said yesterday.

The other Longford TD, Mr Louis Belton, told a local radio station that he wanted the results of the Garda inquiry to be published.

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He said the shooting had "shocked the people of Abbeylara".

"There's a lot of deep feelings in the community about what happened. I attended the funeral on Sunday and I spoke to a lot of people there. They're anxious that all the facts emerge about this dreadful tragedy," he told Shannonside Northern Sound.

The Fine Gael TD called on the Government to ensure that the findings were published.

"It is vital that the results of this inquiry are made public by the Minister and it's in the interest of the gardai as well that they are made public," he said.

Mr Belton added that most incidents of Garda gunfire involved "armed criminals or terrorists".

"What happened in the Abbeylara case is unprecedented. What started off as a domestic problem escalated where there were a lot of shots fired and ended up as a fatal shooting.

"It's different from anything that ever happened before. That's why it's important that all the facts are made public."

Email: rosullivan@irish-times.ie

Roddy O'Sullivan

Roddy O'Sullivan

Roddy O'Sullivan is a Duty Editor at The Irish Times