Witnesses called for Abbeylara Tribunal

MORE than 200 witnesses have given statements to the Abbeylara Tribunal which is due to begin hearings into the fatal shooting of John Carthy at the end of next month.

Over 40 of the witnesses applied for legal representation at a preliminary sitting of the tribunal in the High Court yesterday, including Mr Carthy’s mother and sister, Mrs Rose and Ms Marie Carthy; his two GPs and his psychiatrist, the Garda Commissioner Pat Byrne and 36 other gardai and Emergency Response Unit (ERU) members up to the rank of inspector.

Tribunal chairman Justice Robert Barr will rule on the applications this Friday but said he would hear further applications as the inquiry progressed if issues arose that carried implications for other existing or prospective witnesses.

Justice Barr reminded witnesses of their duty to co-operate, warning that any costs incurred by the Tribunal through their lack of co-operation would have to be borne by them.

He said he hoped all relevant documents and reports would be handed over promptly and voluntarily so that he would not have to make formal legal orders for their discovery.

He reminded witnesses of the legal powers of Tribunals, referring to the criminal prosecution initiated against Charles Haughey for alleged obstruction of the Moriarity Tribunal.

Justice Barr stressed that the inquiry was “not a trial of alleged wrong-doing by any particular person or group of persons” but was an exercise designed “to establish, if possible, what circumstances brought about or contributed by act or omission to the death of John Carthy, why that tragedy happened and what might be learned”.

The inquiry will take place in six separate modules beginning with the background to the incident, including details of Mr Carthy’s personal life and psychiatric condition, his relationship with the medical profession and gardai, and the circumstances surrounding his ownership of a licenced gun.

The second and potentially longest module will look at the events leading up to and during the siege at Mr Carthy’s home in Abbeylara, up to the point where he was shot by the ERU.

A third module will examine the history, training and operations of the ERU and the fourth will deal with the evidence of the State Pathologist and consider whether there were effective alternatives to shooting Mr Carthy.

The fifth module will study how police in other comparable jurisdictions such as Scotland, Canada and New Zealand, deal with similar situations and the sixth will review garda training and the law on gun licences.

Senior counsels for the Tribunal, Michael McGrath and Ray Comyn, will deliver the opening statement of the inquiry in Longford on February 12 and full hearings are scheduled to begin by the end of February.

The tribunal is to have its own website soon, in the meantime, concerned organisations and the public can contact the inquiry on 01-8175290.