Garda who disarmed church gunman awarded €30k damages

A garda’s courage in tackling and disarming a gunman, who had just shot two people in a church, left him with nightmare flashbacks, a court heard today.

Ms Justice Mary Irvine said Detective Garda Joseph Everard had acted with very significant bravery in chasing and arresting the gunman who had opened fire at a First Communion Mass for 60 children.

She awarded Garda Everard, currently with the immigration police at Dublin Airport, €30,000 damages at a High Court garda compensation hearing.

Peter McCann (now 43) was jailed for 15 years for the admitted attempted murder of Sinn Féin official Larry O’Toole and the wounding of his young son, also Larry, in St Joseph’s Church, Ballymun, on May 16, 1998.

His criminal trial, at which he pleaded guilty in April 1999, heard how McCann, from north Belfast but with an address at Balcurris Road, Ballymun, shot Mr O’Toole and his son in the middle of the Mass which was attended by 450 people.

Judge Paul Carney told Mc Cann his attack was a crime against civilisation, the O’Tooles, the children and those attending the Mass.

He had heard how pandemonium had broken out when McCann fired the .22 Beretta pistol at the O’Tooles and shouted: “Larry O’Toole, you bastard, you are dead.” Children had screamed and dived for cover.

Garda Everard told Judge Irvine yesterday that he had been sitting in a garda van outside St Joseph’s Church, Balcurris, Ballymun, on Saturday, May 16, 1998, when people and children came running screaming from the church.

Some of the Mass-goers were chasing the gunman, who was wearing a balaclava and a green army jacket. He joined the chase and eventually got to the front of the crowd and confronted Peter McCann in Balcurris Court.

He had attempted to talk him into surrendering the gun and eventually succeeded in grappling it from him and bringing him to the ground. The crowd had wanted him to leave McCann to them and he had to protect McCann from them until other gardaí arrived.

Garda Everard (aged 51) told the court he had suffered flashbacks of facing the gunman for a number of years after the incident. He had been promoted to the garda immigration service at Dublin Airport for which he had to undergo a weapons course.

The re-living of the showdown with the gunman, the weapons course, the eventual trial of McCann and the carrying of a gun while on duty at the airport had weighed heavily on his mind and he had eventually been excused from carrying a gun on duty.

He said he had been treated by his GP, a counsellor and a psycho-therapist who had diagnosed post traumatic stress symptoms.

Judge Irvine said she was satisfied the incident had been a very serious event in which Garda Everard had faced down a gunman. He showed very significant bravery in disarming the gunman of both a gun and a knife and bringing him under control.