Lessons from report must be heeded

THE fatal shooting of John Carthy in Abbeylara six years ago should never have happened.

That’s the heart-rending conclusion of former High Court Judge Robert Barr’s damning report on the tragic incident.

A manic depressive, 27-year-old Carthy, armed with a shotgun, was killed by gardaí on a country road, outside his Co Longford home, after a 25-hour siege in the spring of 2000.