Commissioner sends ERU and extra gardaí to Louth

Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan has ordered the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) and an extra 27 uniformed gardaí into north Louth in response to the murder of Garda Tony Golden.

The first batch of 14 gardaí and two sergeants arrived yesterday at Dundalk station, to be followed by 11 gardaí next week.

Teams from the elite and armed ERU are to conduct patrols and checkpoints in Dundalk and the border region targeting criminal gangs. The commissioner made the decision after meeting members at Dundalk Garda Station on Monday, less than a day after the murder of Garda Golden.

Local sources said gardaí had a “robust and frank meeting” with the commissioner and outlined the desperate need for more resources to fight crime.

The district detective unit is targeting a number of criminal gangs in the area and investigating several murders.

These include the murder of taxi driver Martin Mulligan last month and the ongoing investigation into the murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe at Bellurgan in January 2013.

A Garda Representative Association source said: “Members in Dundalk district had a robust and frank meeting with the Garda Commissioner and outlined the need for more gardaí — with increased resources to combat growing crime.”

It is thought that Garda headquarters expects the extra gardaí will boost visibility of policing in Dundalk and north Louth and “free up” detectives to conduct their investigations.

The ERU will conduct high-visibility armed checkpoints at certain locations, targeting the operations of known gangs.

The 27 gardaí are being transferred on a temporary basis from within the Northern Region, including the Cavan division, as well as from the Dublin Region.

Garda bosses view the deployment as a “concentrated effort for a short period”, which will be reviewed and possibly extended.