80% of respondents to radio poll object to early release

FOUR in every five respondents to a radio poll yesterday said the killers of Detective Garda Gerry McCabe should not be released.

IRA men Kevin Walsh, Jeremiah Sheehy, Michael O'Neill and Pearse McAuley are serving between 11 and 14 years for manslaughter after being convicted in February 1999.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern angered Mr McCabe's widow, Ann, last week when indicating that the four could be released early if all IRA activity ceased and decommissioning was completed.

Yesterday, RTÉ Radio's Marian Finucane show polled its listeners on the issue.

The question asked was: "Should the killers of Detective Garda Gerry

McCabe be released as part of a final settlement in the North?"

Respondents gave their answer via text message. Almost 81% or four in every five said 'no'.

Some 19% of respondents said 'yes'. The poll was opened when the show started at 9am and closed shortly before the end of the broadcast at 10am. RTÉ did not say how many people actually responded to the poll.

Supporters of the four men have long argued that they should qualify as political prisoners under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement and, therefore, benefit from its early release mechanism.

The Government has traditionally rejected this view on the McCabe case, but now appears reconciled to releasing the men as part of a final political settlement, should one be reached.

Interestingly, the number of people who voted against releasing the killers in yesterday's poll was similar to those who endorsed the Good Friday Agreement itself in 1998.

The combined vote both North and South in favour of the agreement was 85%.

Yesterday's poll would appear to suggest that a significant proportion of those in favour of the agreement do not believe the McCabe killers qualify under it.