Gardaí unable to prosecute after paramilitaries fired at funeral
A note of a phone call from the Department of Justice to the Taoiseach’s Department on February 20, 1980, states that the Director of Public Prosecutions had decided, on the basis of the evidence provided by the gardaí, that “there were no grounds for any prosecution arising out of the involvement of persons in paramilitary dress etc in the Sheehy funeral”.
“While the garda investigations into the firing of shots at the funeral is not closed, it is considered unlikely that any evidence will be forthcoming which would warrant a prosecution.”
The incident caused a furore after Taoiseach Charles Haughey arranged to have an army officer offer condolences on his behalf at the Tralee home of the well-known GAA star and to attend the funeral Mass.
The officer did the house call but also went ahead and attended the Mass the following day despite newspaper headlines that morning reporting that the removal the previous evening had been taken over by paramilitaries and shots were fired over the coffin.
The controversy ran in the media for days as Fine Gael accused Mr Haughey of insulting the army. The former taoiseach declined to make any meaningful statement on the affair.
The February 20 notes were prepared in advance of a Dáil question by Garrett FitzGerald and they reveal Mr Haughey was advised to give a detailed account of the incident, including the insistence of the gardaí that: “There was no question of the PIRA taking over Tralee, directing traffic, intimidating people or assuming any other unlawful authority.”
The notes continued: “The Garda authorities have denied a report that a person stepped from a car on the occasion of the removal of the remains and fired a shot or shots.
“The Garda report does say, however, that an unidentified man in the crowd produced some type of handgun and fired three shots into the air.
“As regards the paramilitary aspects of this funeral, the Taoiseach could say that he shares the concern and annoyance of deputies at the provocative display of arms and paramilitary uniforms on the occasion of the funeral.”
In the Dáil that day, however, Mr Haughey fudged the answers to the questions put to him by Mr FitzGerald.
“I felt it appropriate to be so represented at the Requiem Mass because the late Mr Sheehy was a national figure held in high esteem for his long and outstanding contribution to the Gaelic Athletic Association,” he said.
Pressed on the wisdom of being represented at the funeral given the events surrounding the removal, he dumped responsibility on the army officer, Commandant Michael Harrington. “It would be left to the good sense and discretion of my representative at the obsequies as to what action he would take.”
