Gort siege - Let’s wait for results of garda inquiry

An internal garda enquiry has been launched into the siege in Gort, Co Galway, which ended with 39-year-old Anthony Burke being in a critical condition in hospital, having been shot once by the gardaí.

The inquiry, headed by a chief superintendent from outside the area, will determine how the gardaí handled the very fraught situation.

Unfortunately, it ended with the man in question being injured, but garda restraint undoubtedly was responsible for containing what might otherwise have been an even more serious situation which lasted for 21 hours.

There may have been an understandable tendency to compare what happened in Gort with the tragic outcome in Abbeylara when John Carthy was shot dead by an armed garda unit. To do so would be to ignore a number of salient factors which have influenced how the gardaí approached what was a dangerous, yet sensitive situation.

Since Abbeylara there were three other stand-offs, and though one of them ended in tragedy when the man took his own life, they added to their experience in handling what must be described as very tense and difficult situations. However, Abbeylara was something of a defining occurrence for the gardaí which earned them very extreme criticism from the subsequent Barr Tribunal, and an apology to the Carthy family from Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.

That tribunal issued recommendations in its lengthy report having sat for more than 200 days and heard 169 witnesses, which should have had a bearing on the outcome in Gort.

This is an aspect which has to be looked at by the internal inquiry and it is somewhat preemptive of Tánaiste and Justice Minister Michael McDowell to fully support and commend the “garda bravery” during the siege in Gort. Undoubtedly, they faced a very precarious situation and seemingly reacted to it in a reasonable and professional manner.

On hand was the man’s solicitor, as well as a full range of support services, which included a priest, doctors and psychologists.

However, it would be preferable to await the outcome of the inquiry rather than pronounce unilaterally on some of the circumstances that surrounded it, as the Tánaiste did.

It is obvious that a round referred to as the “non-fatal bean bag round” was tried and failed, because the gardaí admitted that non-fatal methods were used before the man was shot. Even then, while a live round of ammunition was discharged, it inflicted injury which brought the siege to an end when the man was, according to the gardaí, behaving in a “threatening manner”.

It has to be pointed out Mr Burke had fired a number of shots from his house, so the question of public safety, and that of the gardaí, was a major concern.

Having to resort to shooting the man to bring the stand-off to an end may have been an operational imperative as far as the gardaí were concerned, but the options available to them have to be examined.

Thankfully, it was ended by just one round fired to a non-fatal part of the body, but less potentially lethal methods that are effective should be available to the gardaí.