Detective McCabe's widow slams IRA killers' apology

An IRA gang’s apology for the killing of a detective in a botched robbery was today branded a cynical public relations stunt by his widow.

Ann McCabe said the belated apology for the fatal shooting of her husband Jerry nearly nine years ago was irrelevant to her.

“It doesn’t wash with me, it means absolutely nothing,” she said. “It’s just a PR exercise again for Sinn Féin/IRA.

“They have the glare of all this publicity on them now and I think it’s just a PR exercise to try to take that glare away from them.”

Four men – Kevin Walsh, Pearse McCauley, Jeremiah Sheehy and Michael O’Neill - were convicted of the manslaughter of Det. Garda McCabe during an attempted robbery in Adare, Co Limerick, in June 1996. They were jailed in 1999 for up to 14 years each.

In a statement issued from their cells in Castlerea Prison yesterday, the killers said: “We deeply regret the death of Garda Jerry McCabe and the wounding of Garda Ben O’Sullivan during an IRA operation in Adare in June 1996.

“We deeply regret and apologise for this and the hurt and grief we have caused the families.

“There was never any intent to attack any members of the Garda Siochána.”

The four men claimed they qualified for early release under the Good Friday Agreement and the statement went on, “They (the Government) have refused to do so and are now presenting our release as an obstacle to negotiations and an agreement.

“For this reason we do not want our release to be part of any further negotiations with the Irish Government.”

The Garda Representative Association said it was highly cynical for the killers of Det. Garda Jerry McCabe to ask the people of Ireland to believe that his death was a dreadful accident.

Kevin McCarthy, chairman of the Limerick Garda Representative Association, said it was no surprise to many GRA members that the gang were seeking early release.

“Yesterday’s statement has once again forced us to, as it were, stick our heads above the parapet on this and to express our dismay at their statement,” he said. “They are opportunists in the extreme.”

He said it was a highly cynical exercise. “I have no doubt at all, with a capital C,” he said.

“The GRA was at the forefront all along looking for an apology but you must put that into the context in which the apology is made. In this case one would treat it with a large grain of salt.”

Mr McCarthy said the issue of their release should never have been allowed on to the negotiating table during efforts to revive power-sharing in Northern Ireland.

“We always maintained that it should not have been on the table and we took the view that it should have been off the table before any debate took place,” he said.

“All they are really saying now is we are taking the advantage of the high moral ground here and are prepared to serve our time.”

The men, who have now completely ruled out any negotiations towards early release as part of the peace process, will continue to serve their sentences for the 1996 manslaughter in Castlerea Prison.

However, all four men are expected to be released within five years, with a quarter of their sentences set aside for good behaviour.