Abbeylara Tribunal to hear details of John Carthy’s death

THE first witnesses in the Abbeylara Tribunal will begin giving evidence today, as public hearings into the shooting dead of John Carthy start in Dublin.

The early days of the hearings will probe Mr Carthy's personal and family history, his psychiatric records, and the decisions of gardaí and medical practitioners that led to him being allowed to possess a shotgun.

It will also look at his relationship with local gardaí and, in particular, his detention and questioning by officers in relation to a criminal damage offence of which he was later cleared and the effect this experience had on him.

Mr Carthy's sister, Marie, said the very personal nature of the subject matter for examination this week would make the opening days of the inquiry tough for her and her mother.

But she added: "What can you do? It's what we wanted a proper tribunal and it has to be gone through. At least it will be over and done with and we can start to get some answers."

Mr Carthy, who was 26 at the time of his death, was shot dead by members of the elite Garda Emergency Response Unit following an armed overnight stand-off at the house he had shared with his mother, Mrs Rose Carthy, in the village of Abbeylara, Co Longford in April 2000.

He had committed no crime prior to locking himself in the house and had no hostage, but became agitated when gardaí arrived, and began firing off rounds of his shotgun. He was shot dead after walking out of the house suddenly after 25 hours and ignoring warnings to throw down his weapon.

His death raised much public disquiet over the handling of the incident, and an inquiry was established by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, but this was halted following a High Court challenge by gardaí, which ruled that Oireachtas committees did not have sufficient powers to conduct such inquiries.

A full-scale tribunal of inquiry was established last year under the chairmanship of Justice Robert Barr, who sat briefly in January to announce details of how the investigation would proceed.

In his outline, Justice Barr revealed he would be examining all issues relating to the issuing of gun licences, the training and role of the ERU and the availability of non-lethal weapons for use by gardaí, as well as the particular circumstances surrounding John Carthy's death.

Public sittings take place in the Jameson Building, Bow Street, Dublin.