Jerry McCabe's widow: Bring two fugitive gang members to justice
A file photo of the late Detective Garda Jerry McCabe murdered in Adare village, Limerick on June 7, 1996. Picture: Liam Burke/Press 22
The widow of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe, who was murdered by an IRA gang 25 years ago today, has called on gardaí to redouble their efforts in bringing two fugitive members of the gang to justice.
Ann McCabe was speaking after a commemoration ceremony in Co Limerick this morning to mark the 25th anniversary of his death. She said “evil men” took her husband’s life and seriously wounded his colleague Detective Garda Ben O’Sullivan in the atrocity, on Main Street Adare, Co Limerick, on June 7, 1996.
The two Special Branch detectives were rammed and fired upon by the gang, as they escorted a post office cash delivery van through the quaint tourist village at 6.03am.
Four men, Kevin Walsh, Patrickswell Co Limerick; Pearse McAuley, from Strabane, Jeremiah Sheehy from Rathkeale and Michael O’Neill, from Patrickswell, served prison sentences after pleading guilty to Det Gda McCabe’s manslaughter while on trial for his murder in 1999.
Two men other members of the gang who fled the country in 1996, and who are believed to be on the run in Spain and South America, are believed to have travelled back to Ireland several times over the years.
A fifth man John Quinn, of Faha, Patrickswell, was jailed for conspiracy to commit robbery of the post office van on the day.
Ann McCabe said she hoped, one day, to be able to “eyeball” the two last members of the gang in court.
“Hopefully I will be around if they are brought back, it is my wish that they be brought back, and I will be there to eyeball them, one hundred per cent,” Mrs McCabe said.
“They need to face justice for what they have done.
"There was widespread intimidation of witnesses (at the trial) and that’s where the manslaughter pleas came from, but in my book you don't walk up to a car and fire indiscriminately into it and not think you are going to murder somebody," she said.
Mrs McCabe revealed that her husband had fixed a car owned by Kevin Walsh, who gardaí believe fired the fatal shots that killed Detective McCabe.
“The amazing thing about it was that Jerry did a bit of car work on his days off, he was brilliant with his hands, and he actually put in an alternator in Kevin Walsh’s car when he was helping out at a friend’s garage in his spare time,” Mrs McCabe said.
“Jerry didn't see the wrong in anybody, he always gave people the benefit of the doubt, but he never thought they would do that to him,” she added.
Detective McCabe’s sister-in-law, Una Heaton, said: “It’s very raw, and the two guys who are still wanted for the murder are still free and I just wonder who long does it take to get these guys back into the country - it’s 25 years, is there something wrong,” she asked.
“I hope there is a will to bring them back, after the words of senior gardaí today, let's hope it’s not just words - we’re great for chatting in this country and you hear people say, ‘ah, we’ll do that tomorrow’, well, please do it today.
“Ann is very upset about it the whole time, about why are those two guys on the run this whole time.
"And, of course, they got the easy sentence because of intimidation of witnesses.
"Today brings it all back, it’s horrible,” Ms Heaton added.
Ben O’Sullivan, who was struck 11 times in the botched post office van robbery, said he remains hopeful the two remaining gang members will be brought to justice: “I could associate it with the murder of another Garda, Adrian O’Donoghue — four years afterwards the perpetrator of that crime was brought to justice, and in our case, the perpetrators were brought to justice, other than two, and, where there is life there is hope, and I have that hope.”
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and Limerick Chief Superintendent Gerry Roche both pledged to do everything they could to find the two remaining suspects.
Speaking in Adare, Commissioner Harris said: “This does remain an active investigation, and it is subject to three-monthly reviews so it isn't in anyway forgotten about.
“At all times we wish to pursue further avenues, and lines of enquiry, and perhaps the public can help us in that, because there are two fugitives who would have been well known in this area who have now moved elsewhere, they are not within our jurisdiction, they are not within our grasp.
“But we do believe people here in the locality or in Limerick may have information that could be of great assistance to us in locating those individuals,” Mr Harris said.
Earlier, Ann McCabe told those who gathered in Adare: “Six evil men were involved in that ambush - four faced justice - two are still on the run, but I have no doubt with the combined efforts of the Department of Justice with An Garda Siochana, will eventually track them down and bring them back to Ireland for justice to be done.”
Mrs McCabe said she will never get over her husband’s “brutal killing”, and that her husband was close to retirement when he was gunned down in cold blood: “Jerry had modest dreams for the future, which he never got to see”.
She said the silence of Adare village “was shattered when evil and murder invaded the Main Street” when, “just across the road, the sound of a hail of bullets, shot at point blank range into two noble and upright and honest gardaí as they sat in the front seats of a patrol car”.
“In those few seconds of evil and depravity my family and the lives of our five children changed forever.”
Taoiseach Micheál Martin paid tribute to Det Gda McCabe's memory and service and said "this country will never forget his sacrifice".
"It is 25 years since the murder of Garda Jerry McCabe in an IRA ambush shocked us all.
"My thoughts are with his widow Ann, family, friends and colleagues today," said Mr Martin.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said Det Gda McCabe was murdered for doing his job and that his bravery and service will be remembered.
Ahead of the ceremony the Minister for Justice, Heather Humphries described the detective's death as a brutal and callous murder.
Although the IRA distanced itself from the 1996 killing, it was carried out by its Munster unit, four of whom were originally charged with Det Gda McCabe’s murder, and the attempted murder of his partner Detective Garda Ben O’Sullivan, but were later jailed for manslaughter.
During their trial in 1999, the State accepted their pleas to the lesser charge after key witnesses refused to cooperate.
On June 7, 1996, Det Gda McCabe and his partner, Det Gda Ben O’Sullivan, were escorting a post office cash delivery van through Adare when their unmarked Special Branch garda car was rammed by a jeep carrying an armed IRA squad.
During the dawn botched robbery, the gang fired 15 rounds from machine guns into the garda car, killing Det McCabe almost instantly and seriously wounding Det O’Sullivan.
Minister Humphries said Det Gda McCabe had been “brutally and callously murdered, while carrying out his sworn duty to protect the people of this State, in the unprovoked gun attack."
“The murder of Jerry McCabe was a particularly vicious crime, I can still recall the shock and revulsion of the public across the country, but particularly those in Limerick where Jerry lived with his wife Ann and their five children.
“I know that the pain of his loss is still deeply felt by his family and by his colleagues in An Garda Síochána after 25 years, and I would like to express my sincere sympathies to Ann McCabe at this very poignant time for her and for her children and family," she said.
Minister Humphries said the two Limerick detectives “were in my thoughts” on May 22 last when she attended the Annual Garda Memorial Day held in honour of the 89 gardaí, including Jerry McCabe, who have died in the line of duty.
“At the ceremony I noted the immense service which the members of An Garda Síochána have provided to the State during the most challenging of times. Their dedication and loyalty has never faltered even when severely tested,” Ms Humphries said.
“When Gardaí put on their uniform to go to work, they don't know what lies ahead. We must always remember that in wearing the uniform and serving the Irish people, they place our protection and their duty to the State above their own safety.”
Minister Humphries said that “as we approach 2022, the centenary of the formation of An Garda Síochána, the dedication that Gardaí like Jerry McCabe have shown in preserving law, order and the security of our country since the foundation of the State cannot be understated, and we will recognise and celebrate their contribution in the year ahead”.
Three of the four convicted garda killers, including, Kevin Walsh and Michael O’Neill, both from Lisheen Park, Patrickswell, and Jeremiah Sheehy from Abbey Park, Rathkeale, returned to live in Co Limerick following their release from prison.
The fourth, Strabane native, Pierce McAuley, was returned to prison and sentenced to 12 years for a prolonged knife attack on his estranged wife Pauline Tully in 2014, who was elected as Sinn Féin TD in 2020.
A fifth man, John Quinn, of Faha, Patrickswell, Co Limerick, was jailed for six years for conspiracy to commit the robbery of the post office van in Adare.
Two others, one from Cork and the other from Dun Laoghaire, are still wanted for questioning about the killing, and are believed to be living in Spain and South America.
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