Wife of murdered garda seeks damages

The wife of murdered Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe has reportedly lodged an application under the Garda Compensation Scheme.

Caroline Donohoe is believed to have filed her application with the High Court under the scheme, which is set up for family members of deceased gardaí as well as officers injured on duty.

The partners of gardaí killed in the line of duty are entitled to apply for compensation on their own behalf and their children’s.

Det Garda Donohoe, 41, was shot dead without warning by raiders during a botched robbery at the Lordship Credit Union at Bellurgan, Co Louth, on January 25, 2013.

Three of the five-man gang, including the leader and suspected killer, fled to the US, where they are still believed to be. Gardaí have been in ongoing contact with the FBI to keep tabs on them, and are waiting until they return to Ireland.

All five are from the south Armagh area and have been involved in serious crime, including robbery, on both sides of the border for years. The PSNI has worked closely with the gardaí since the murder.

In February 2000, Ann McCabe, the wife of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe, and her two youngest children were awarded over €600,000 in compensation following his murder by the IRA in June 1996.

Later that year, Yvonne Callanan was awarded €800,000 in relation to the death of her husband Andy Callanan, 36, after an arson attack at Tallaght Garda Station in July 1999.

Despite a massive Garda investigation into Det Garda Donohoe’s killing, detectives have so far not been able to arrest key members of the gang, because of the fact they remain outside the jurisdiction.

Last January, speaking on the first anniversary of Det Garda Donohoe’s death, then Garda commissioner Martin Callinan said investigators were satisfied they knew the “identities of the people who carried out this crime”.

While three members are in the US, two others are thought to be in the North, where one is facing unrelated charges.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s next week or next year; we will continue to work as hard as we possibly can until we bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice,” said Mr Callinan.

His replacement, the interim commissioner Noirín O’Sullivan, said earlier this year that the investigation “remains live” and that the “determination to bring the people who carried out this cowardly act to justice remains steadfast”.