Garda swayed by doctor in returning gun to Carthy

THE garda superintendent who authorised the return of John Carthy’s shotgun did not believe him suitable to hold a firearm but was swayed by the contrary opinion of a psychiatrist.

Supt Denis Cullinane, now retired, told the Barr Tribunal he was concerned about Mr Carthy’s history of mental illness and told him in a meeting with him on October 6 1998 that he could not return the gun to him unless he was satisfied it was safe to do so. Mr Carthy sought the meeting because his gun had been seized in August, ostensibly as part of a routine check, but he had been told he could have it back in a week and he had got no explanation for the

delay.

Supt Cullinane told the tribunal the only legal grounds on which he could keep Mr Carthy’s gun were that he was a danger to other people or that he was not of sound mind. He said while the gun had been taken on foot of reports that Mr Carthy had threatened to use it against some local people, the garda assigned to investigate the reports had failed to find anyone who would stand over their concerns by way of formal complaint. Without evidence that he was a danger to others, the only other ground for withholding the gun was Mr Carthy’s mental state, but just over a week after the October 6 meeting, Supt Cullinane got a letter from Mr Carthy’s psychiatrist, Dr David Shanley, declaring him fit to use a firearm and stating that if there was any change in his medical situation, Mr Carthy’s GP would be in touch. Supt Cullinane initially attached a memo to the letter, stating that the opinion of Mr Carthy’s GP, Dr Patrick Cullen, should be sought but Dr Cullen was holidays when a garda rang his office to seek his views and, on reflection, Supt Cullinane decided he had no reason not to

accept Dr Shanley’s opinion.

“As a lay person I felt he (John Carthy) wasn’t a suitable person to have a gun, but I had to be guided by the decision of the doctor, the expert on the matter,” he said.

The tribunal has already heard that Dr Cullen declined to back Mr Carthy in retrieving the gun because he was concerned about his mental state, and that Dr Shanley did not know the real reason the gun was taken from his patient and did not inform Dr Cullen about the letter to Supt Cullinane. It heard yesterday that one of the local people who reported the “threats” and expressed concerns about Mr Carthy having a gun did so on the basis of information that was “at least third-hand.”

Evelyn McLoughlin, the wife of a local builder against whom Mr Carthy was making an unfair dismissals claim, told the tribunal: “somebody mentioned to me that John was supposed to have gone down to the local handball alley and threatened the children. At the time I said this is a joke, but the person the other person had heard it from had gone and reported it to the gardaí so I was concerned,” she said, explaining why she reported the matter herself to Garda Peter Earley.