Union backs inquiry calls into garda shooting
A Garda union today backed calls for an independent public inquiry into the murder of the first officer to die in Ireland during the Troubles.
Garda Richard Fallon, 43 was shot twice by republican splinter group Saor Éire during an armed bank robbery on Dublin’s Arran Quay in 1970.
The father of five later became the first member of the force to be posthumously awarded the Scott Gold Medal for bravery in the line of duty.
The Garda Representative Association (GRA), today supported other demands for an independent public inquiry into the death by Det Garda Jerry McCabe’s widow and by the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI).
“The GRA acknowledges the right of the Fallon family to appeal for all information available,” said GRA president John Egan in a letter to Garda Fallon’s son Finian.
“The [GRA’s] Central Executive Committee also endorses your entitlement to pursue this matter which will hopefully bring closure to your quest for peace and reconciliation.
He added: “We do understand that your mission to determine the full extent of the death of your father is an onerous and difficult one for you.”
Garda Fallon was responding to an alarm at the Royal Bank on April 3, 1970 when he was shot in the shoulder and neck as he tried to apprehend one of the armed raiders.
Former Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said last year that the murder was fully investigated by the Gardaí at the time and that he was unconvinced that any further practical steps were open to him.
The capital murder investigation remains an open case under the command of an Assistant Garda Commissioner.
Mr Fallon, who was only three years old when his father died, is now seeking an urgent meeting with Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan to press for a public inquiry on the issue.
“I hope that Mr Lenihan can appreciate the important issues that this case raises and that he will be able to assess the facts already in the public domain and initiate an inquiry,” he said.
“I believe that something untoward went on and the Irish Government is hiding the truth to this day.”
A month after Garda Fallon’s murder, Taoiseach Jack Lynch sacked Minister for Finance Charles Haughey and Minister for Agriculture Neil Blaney over allegations of gunrunning for the Provisional IRA.
Three activists of the now-defunct Saor Éire organisation went on trial for the murder but were later acquitted.
Ann McCabe, the widow of Garda Jerry McCabe who was killed by the IRA in 1996, supported the Fallon family earlier this year.
“The family has been a long time looking for answers and any law-abiding citizen has a right to the truth,” she said.
Mr Fallon and Mrs McCabe are both members of the Garda Survivors’ Support Association, which was formed in 2005 by relatives of gardaí killed on duty.
“I accuse the Irish Government of cowardice in addressing this issue, which is in stark contrast to the simple bravery exhibited by my father,” Mr Fallon added.
