'Nation will mourn' Garda Tony Golden, shot dead in Louth murder-suicide
Investigations are continuing into a shooting which claimed the life of a garda and a second man in Co Louth.
Garda Tony Golden, who was married with three young children all believed to be under eight years old, was responding to a domestic disturbance in Mullach Álainn, Omeath when he and a woman who lived at the house were shot.
Gardaí from Omeath garda station got the emergency call at about 6pm yesterday.
Garda Golden, 36, went into the house where, it is believed, he was confronted by 24-year-old Adrian Crevan Mackin, who was armed with a handgun. Mackin fired a number of shots, hitting both the woman and the officer. The garda was fatally injured, while the woman received serious injuries.
Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. The woman was taken to hospital where she remains in a serious condition.
Twenty-four-year-old Mackin from Co Down also died from a gun shot wound. Gardaí are treating the incident as a murder-suicide.
Mackin, who had been before the Special Criminal Court on charges of IRA membership and who was on bail, is understood to have turned the gun on himself, taking his own life.
Commissioner Noirin O’Sullivan described the events in Omeath as a "terrible tragedy".
Chaplin to An Garda Síochána Fr Joe Kennedy is said members of the Force would rally to support Garda Golden's wife and three young children.
He said: "It's the second such shooting in that area. Adrian Donohoe was killed almost three years ago not far from Omeath.
"(Garda Golden's) colleagues will rally around to give some support they to his wife and children, but it's a terrible tragedy."
The shooting took place just a short distance from Bellurgan where Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe, also a married father of three young children, was gunned down by raiders in an attempted robbery from a Co Louth credit union. Adrian Donohoe had been the first garda to be murdered in 17 years.
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Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan said: “This incident highlights the unique nature of the job carried out by the men and women of An Garda Síochána, and the dangers they face every day.”
GRA president Dermot O’Brien said: “This dreadful, dreadful news is the deepest fear of every police family. This puts everything we do into perspective.
“At this time of distress, the garda family will be doing everything possible to support the late garda’s relatives and loved ones, friends and colleagues.”
Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald said the the fact that a garda had laid down his life while protecting the community “is a cause of great sadness”.
“His death will be mourned by the entire nation, grateful for the service which he gave to it,” said Ms Fitzgerald.
“Today’s tragic events are a stark reminder of the risks which members of An Garda Síochána face day in day out trying to keep our communities safe."
President Michael D Higgins said his thoughts were with the family and friends of Garda Golden. He also offered his sympathies to the friends and families of the man and woman involved in the tragedy.
