‘That justice has yet to be served makes this harder’
He should have been laughing and eating, busy throwing his children up into the air, out having a puck around. All the things dads would do.
But instead of turning 42, the detective garda’s life ended at age 41, when he was blasted in the head at close range, without warning and without a chance to draw his weapon.
When news broke late on Jan 25, 2013 that a garda had been shot dead during a robbery near Jenkinstown, Co Louth, it brought the nation back to the dark days of 1996.
That summer was the last time a garda, also a detective garda, Jerry McCabe, was shot dead, also in a robbery. That was at the hands of the IRA in a botched raid in Adare, Co Limerick.
The callous murder of Det Gda Donohoe, almost 17 years later, was a shocking reminder that the killing of a garda was not a thing of the past. This time the culprits were a new generation of criminals, young gangsters from South Armagh, who have grown up in a culture of criminality, violence and warped republicanism.
The murder of the Cavan man, who lived with Caroline, also a garda, and their children near the scene of the murder outraged colleagues and shocked the nation.
Thousands of gardaí and local people, including GAA colleagues, attended the funeral at St Joseph’s Church in Dundalk in a display which brought some comfort to his family and reflected a mass level of solidarity rarely seen.
John Parker, president of the Garda Representative Association, yesterday said colleagues were “still processing the effects” the murder was having on them.
“His friends and colleagues are still collectively grieving, and that justice has yet to be served makes this all the harder,” said Mr Parker.
Garda boss Martin Callinan said they believed they have identified the killers. They include two brothers. Up to three, including the gunman, are in the US, but their holiday visas are due to expire soon. Two are thought to be in the North, where one faces unrelated charges.
Mr Callinan gave some details of the sheer amount of work carried out by the investigation team. This includes 4,000 individual tasks and over 2,100 statements. A massive 400,000 hours of CCTV has been gathered, some of which captures the attackers and the actual shooting. Over 1,200 exhibits have been collected and more than 30 searches carried out.
He said investigations have spread abroad and that officers have travelled to a number of countries to gather evidence and intelligence. He said invaluable assistance had been provided by Interpol, Europol, the Dutch Police and the FBI. He paid particular thanks to the PSNI, who, when the time comes for arrests, will be the ones who will have do it.
The commissioner declined to give any idea as to when they might move, but did say this to people in the gang who did not carry out the actual shooting: “Now is the time [to come forward], before we come knocking on the door. I say to the people involved in this crime, keep looking over your shoulder.”
He said those with information, even people who might be reluctant to come forward, had to decide what society they wanted to live in.
“Is it acceptable that people can go around murdering one another; can murder a member of An Garda Síochána, charged with the responsibility of upholding the laws of this State, of minding society, who is shot at and killed in such a brutal fashion.”
