Carthy home demolished soon after siege

LESS than two weeks after Longford man John Carthy was shot dead following the Abbeylara siege, work began to demolish the house he shared with his mother, the Barr Tribunal heard yesterday.

Michael Maguire, a Longford-based builder, said he was contracted by the county council to erect a new house for Rose and John Carthy and began construction work on November 24, 1999. By the time of the shooting the new structure, adjacent to the Carthy’s old house, had been substantially completed and was ready for occupation, apart from the electricity supply which had yet to be connected.

John Carthy, who had a history of psychiatric illness, died on the roadway outside his home on April 20, 2000 after being shot by members of the Garda Emergency Response Unit.