‘What I wouldn’t give to have Jerry still alive’

Retired garda detective Ben O’Sullivan, left at death’s door by the IRA, yesterday spoke publicly for the first time of the nightmares that haunted him for years after an attack in Adare which claimed the life of colleague Det Garda Jerry McCabe.

Recalling the bloody events of June 7, 1996, the 72-year-old said: “It’s now 20 years on and it still affects me. I have learned to cope with those nightmares that were foisted on me.

“Those nightmares are now in abeyance: The reason being is that time is a great healer and I have healed, thankfully better than I thought I might.”