Taoiseach apologises to Carthy family on behalf of State

The Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has apologised to the family of John Carthy on behalf of the State.

Mr Carthy, who suffered from depression, was shot dead by armed gardaí six years ago following a 24-hour siege at his home in Abbeylara, Co Longford.

Yesterday, the Barr Report into the shooting heavily criticised senior gardaí but exonerated the officer who fired the fatal shot of any wrong-doing.

Apologising to the Carthy family today, Mr Ahern said the Government would be studying the report carefully and would hopefully learn lessons from its contents.