Everything has been changed by this most cruel of murders

MEMBERS of An Garda Síochána are in deep shock; the enormity of the cold-blooded killing of a colleague has not yet fully sunk in.

There has been no time to reflect and absorb the pain.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe’s wife and children. We will never be able to do enough to alleviate the hurt to which they have been so cruelly subjected.

The wider Garda family is united in its grief, and so, too, is the organisation’s support for Detective Garda Joe Ryan, subjected to unimaginable trauma.

Gardaí attending the scene: For some, it was their first time to see a dead body, for many it was a first murder. But to see the callous cold-blooded murder of a colleague and friend was incomprehensible. It is testament to their professionalism that their response was to follow procedure while maintaining their garda discipline and preserving their human dignity.

As the news of our colleague’s death rippled out into the darkness, it became a wave of disbelief and despair. To the seasoned garda, it was a dark reminder of a past we thought was behind us. We have been told that Ireland is at peace.

The last time a garda was murdered seems like an aeon ago, in a past that is indeed another country. For the vast majority of the current force, recruited in times of economic boom, this is the first time they have had to confront the deepest fear of every garda family — the murder of a colleague on duty.

Seventeen years ago, when we heard of the fatal shooting of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe, the news cycle was more sedentary. It was a time before social media and social networks. We are in uncharted territory for the impact this has on the wider garda family.

This shockwave has impacted on all members of the force — serving and retired — that such a callous act could be perpetrated by a cowardly criminal who gave no chance to a father, a husband, a workmate, a friend, to preserve his life.

It is a seminal moment that has changed everything we hold true and dear. This week, every garda returning home safely from a tour of duty will cause their families to sigh with relief — waiting intensely for the familiar sound of the door key turning in the lock.

As gardaí, we know we are not isolated from the community, and the long queues of people — from both sides of the border — queuing outside Dundalk Garda Station to express their condolences has been gratifying during the great adversity. The support our colleagues have received as they attempt to find the killers and bring them to justice is also humbling. Not least, we welcome the Garda Commissioner’s deployment of every available resource, and his unswerving commitment to the investigation. We welcome the universal condemnation of this most heinous crime.

Policing in Ireland has changed unrecognisably in the past decade; the anti-stab vest has become a routine item of uniform, incapacitant spray and expandable batons were introduced as standard tools of our trade. The one thing that hasn’t altered is the garda duty to stand between the criminal act and the law-abiding citizen. Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe could not choose whether to confront the raiders; he was sworn to perform the duty on behalf of all citizens. He could not turn away from the obvious danger. What can society learn from his bravery? How can the men and women of An Garda Síochána be protected?

The Garda Representative Association has consistently cautioned, pessimistically, that it was only a matter of time before the new breed of Irish criminals would perpetrate such a despicable act. The new infrastructure of roads and the availability of localised knowledge from the internet have facilitated swift movement nationwide. Nowhere is immune.

Now is not the time to consider resources, the closure of stations, or the reduction in garda numbers. We are disappointed that some of our political leaders have continued to raise the debate and propagate their views — our members are hurting. For gardaí, this is the week to come together to offer support to those grieving most deeply, and to reflect and consider our collective emotions. For many, it will be a time to re-examine their own expectations in the new light after this tragic event. Gardaí will need to talk it out. All colleagues in the Louth Garda Division have their careers divided into “before” and “after” this most awful event. For members of the force with junior service everything has changed; the worst fear of every garda has come to be.

On behalf of all gardaí, I thank the public for their continued unwavering support. But I must also caution that everything has been changed by this cruel murder.

The force will need to be revitalised and rejuvenated by common sense, fresh thinking, and robust initiatives, not by reheated debate.

* PJ Stone is general secretary of the Garda Representative Association.