IRA membership charge against Garda killer struck out

Adrian Crevan Mackin

An IRA membership charge against Adrian Crevan Mackin who murdered Garda Tony Golden earlier this month was struck out at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin on Tuesday.

Prosecution solicitor Michael O’Donovan told the three judge court that his instructions were that “the matter be withdrawn and the single charge struck out”.

Mackin (25), of Mullach Alainn, Omeath, shot dead Garda Golden and seriously injured his partner Siobhan Phillips at the family home in Omeath on October 11th before killing himself.

He was charged in January with membership of an unlawful organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army, otherwise Óglaigh na hÉireann, otherwise the IRA, on January 16th.

He was granted bail on his own bond of €100 and an independent surety of €5,000 on January 27th and had been complying with his bail terms when he murdered Garda Golden.

Mr Justice Paul Butler, presiding, said that it had occurred to him that the deceased person would not be in a position to defend himself against any allegations of breach of his bail.

His counsel Mr Tony McGillicuddy BL said that the parties would discuss the question of the bail and the matter was put in for mention again on November 5th.

Torchlit walk in aid of Multiple Sclerosis in Carlingford tomorrow

The Carlingford – Omeath greenway

A torchlit walk in aid of Multiple Sclerosis will take place on the Carlingford to Omeath Greenway on Thursday night at 7.30pm.

The walk will take place from Carlingford Marina to Greer’s Quay and back and should take approximately 90 minutes.

Light refreshments will be available afterwards.

Donations are accepted on the night with further details from Terry on 087 7929568.

Community group continue to have concerns over policing in Dundalk

Garda Tony Golden

The Cooley Peninsula Community Alert Group has said senior gardaí are still not being listened to or their concerns acted on in relation to policing of the Dundalk district, despite the death of Garda Tony Golden.

Garda Golden was shot dead while on duty in Omeath on Sunday October 11th

Two years previously he had been working with the peninsula-based community group to highlight shortcomings of Garda resources in the immediate area and had compiled a dossier for the then Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter. The Cooley Peninsula Community Alert Group released this document at the weekend.

Now in a letter sent to Garda Commissioner Noirin O’Sullivan, the group said that the fact they have been asked to advocate for resources shows a “failure of the Commissioner’s Office and the Minister of Justice to adequately protect their Gardaí.”

The group also says that garda numbers have “significantly” fallen below 13,000, despite an aspiration from the then minister for it not to be breached.

The group says despite recent recruitment announcements they have had no detail on “what that will likely mean to the overall numbers of gardaí serving, given their demographics and again a target number for adequate policing.”

The group urges the commissioner to “start speaking out for the safety of 12,000+ gardaí and the communities they operate” in order to avoid the deaths of any more gardaí.

The also ask that the commissioner “address and correct the antiquated system” that means gardaí have to go to community groups to have their fears addressed and so that senior gardaí will “no longer have their concerns ignored.”

Chairperson of the Cooley Peninsula Alert Group, Johnny Larkin, said the lack of garda resources was not just an issue for Louth but for the whole country.

Referring to the dossier compiled by Garda Golden he said Garda Golden informed the group of depleting numbers of gardaí.

He said the group met Minister Shatter in April 2014 following the murder of Garda Adrian Donohoe. Minister Shatter said at the time he could not see Garda figures falling below 13,000.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme Mr Larkin said this number has now fallen and new Gardaí are only replacing those who retire.

Cooley community group make document from Garda Golden public

Garda Tony Golden

A community group in the Cooley Peninsula has made public a document given to them by Garda Tony Golden, who was shot dead earlier this month.

In the handwritten document given to the group in 2013, Gda Golden raised a number of concerns about the lack of police resources in the Dundalk district.

Secretary of the Cooley Peninsula Community Alert Group Gearoid O’Sullivan approached Garda Golden ahead of a meeting with the Minister for Justice to voice the group’s concerns.

The group still has the original document Gda Golden drew up in response.

It decided to put the documents in the public domain, as they were Gda Golden’s concerns for his colleagues and they are now advocating for all gardaí still living.

In it Gda Golden raised concerns about the reduction in Garda manpower and an over reliance on overtime, and his and other gardai’s fears that the overtime that had been made available for the murder investigation into Garda Adrian Donohoe in 2013 would not be continued into 2014.

He also raised concerns about the lack of cover when local gardaí were used to supplement Garda numbers in Dundalk, the district headquarters.

The group met the then minister for justice Alan Shatter in April 2014.

Since the death of Gda Golden, two sergeants and 25 gardaí have been deployed to the Dundalk District, albeit on a temporary transfer, from stations in Cavan/Monaghan and the Dublin Metropolitan Region North.

The document from Garda Tony Golden

Garda killer Adrian Crevan Mackin previously shot woman in botched robbery five years ago

Garda killer Adrian Crevan Mackin shot a woman twice in a botched armed robbery attempt in Newry in 2010.

That’s according to a report in today’s Irish Daily Star, which claims Mackin blasted  Roisin Rocks after she activated a panic alarm at a casino she was working in.

The paper claims that Mackin attempted to shoot the mum-of-two a third time but the gun jammed.

Ms Rocks underwent emergency surgery after she was hit in the stomach by the bullets and has been left with severe kidney problems since.

The 24-year-old gunned down Garda Tony Golden in Omeath 11 days ago before turning the gun on himself. He also shot his partner Siobhan Phillips several times. She remains in a critical condition in hospital.

The full story can be read in today’s Irish Daily Star.

27 extra Gardaí for Dundalk branded “wholly inadequate”

Dundalk Garda Station

Local Gardaí have described the deployment of an additional 27 Gardaí to Dundalk as “wholly inadequate”.

That’s according to a report in today’s Irish Independent which says rank and file officers believe the additional support won’t make any difference to policing along the Border.

It is understood that 25 Gardaí and two sergeants are being sent to the district following the death of Garda Tony Golden in Omeath.

Local Gardaí are said to have been left deeply traumatised by that murder, coming less than three years after another Dundalk-based officer, Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe, was killed in Bellurgan by a south Armagh crime gang.

“After Adrian’s murder we were promised extra people but they only stayed for six weeks before returning to their stations. Since then the numbers here actually fell further,” a source told crime correspondent Paul Williams.

“Going on patrol now, colleagues are telling each other to be extra-careful out there and members’ loved ones are petrified.

“The Dundalk area accounts for almost 50% of all crime in the Northern Region, which stretches from Donegal all along the Border to Dundalk and it is taking a terrible toll on everyone.

“We wouldn’t be talking about all this if it wasn’t for one of our friends and colleagues being murdered, but people are saying they have had enough,” the source added.

The sources described being snowed under with emergency calls and they have to deal with daily violence and car rammings.

In September, Dundalk received five new recruits from Templemore – one for each unit – but on the weekend they arrived, six local officers were injured in a series of car rammings in the town.

It is understood that 16 of the officers being re-deployed to Dundalk are being sent from the neighbouring Cavan/Monaghan Division, where manpower levels there are already down by 22%.

Meanwhile, the Garda Representative Association is due to seek a meeting with Garda Human Resources Management (HRM) to request that Dundalk and the Border stations receive the lion’s share of the next batch of young recruits currently in training.

“If there is not a major injection of manpower then our colleagues in Dundalk will be burned out and you could see a large number being forced off work due to stress.”

Senior Garda in Dundalk receives death threats from criminal gang he is investigating

News of the threat comes just days after an estimated 4,000 Gardaí attended the funeral of Garda Tony Golden in Blackrock

A senior Garda in Dundalk has reportedly received death threats from a criminal gang he has been investigating.

News of the threat comes just over a week after the murder of Garda Tony Golden in Omeath and less than three years since the death of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe in Bellurgan.

The Irish Sun reported today that a senior detective in Dundalk Garda Station was followed home by gang members who are said to be serious in their threats against him.

Gardaí are treating the threat, which occurred last month, seriously and say that security precautions have been put in place.

The gang are believed to be associates of Adrian Donohoe’s killers.

A source told the paper: “The detective who has been threatened has been a real thorn in the side of the criminal gang operating in Dundalk.

“Gardai received intelligence the gang was planning to kill him or cause him serious harm and security precautions were put in place.

“Friends of the gang who murdered Detective Donohoe are also still making threats by letting Gardai know where they live.

“They’re just some of the many threats issued to gardai working in one of the most difficult policing environments in the country.

“These people don’t care about the fact two innocent men have lost their lives and are a law on to themselves.”

Coincidentally, the murder threat comes hot on the heels of news that an additional 25 uniformed Gardaí have been sent to Dundalk in the past week.

There had been reports following Garda Golden’s murder that as many as 40 troops would be sent to the local Garda Division but it was confirmed yesterday that this number is now 25.

Garda Headquarters also said an intelligence led investigation has been established into serious crime in the area involving various specialist units.

However, a spokesperson refused to comment on a Sunday newspaper report which claimed there has been an IRA mole in the gardaí locally.

The Sunday Independent reported that a number of investigations were being reviewed amid concerns they may have been compromised.

A garda spokesperson declined to comment except to say that the newspaper report was ‘being examined.’

Garda killer Adrian Crevan Mackin cremated in Belfast

Adrian Crevan Mackin

Garda killer Adrian Crevan Mackin was cremated after a secret funeral in Belfast yesterday morning attended by just a handful of acquaintances.

An undertaker from his home town of Newry finally agreed to do the job after being contacted by friends of Mackin’s, when it emerged that he had effectively been disowned by members of his family.

Mackin’s remains were discreetly driven to Roselawn crematorium in South Belfast for a quick funeral service and cremation at 10.30am yesterday.

According to The Irish Independent the service was “quick, clinical and impersonal”.

“A half-hour slot was booked but it didn’t take that long. A priest said a few prayers and then he was cremated. Only around two dozen people turned up, if that. He has been shunned by everyone who knew him,” a source told the paper.

Mackin’s remains lay unclaimed in a hospital morgue as attempts were made to find an undertaker to collect them this week.

A number of funeral directors initially refused to handle the remains of the 24-year-old, who was facing terrorism charges before his shooting spree in Omeath last Sunday which claimed the life of Garda Tony Golden and left his girlfriend Siobhan Phillips in a critical condition in hospital.

Dundalk to receive 40 extra Gardaí in wake of Tony Golden’s murder

Dundalk Garda Station

Dundalk is to receive up to 40 extra Garda officers in the coming months, according to reports today.

The local Garda Division has been left devastated for the second time in the space of less than three years following the murder of colleague Tony Golden last weekend. That incident in Omeath on Sunday evening follows the murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe in January 2013.

Earlier this week, officers at Dundalk Garda Station walked out on Garda Commissioner Noirin O’Sullivan while she addressed them in protest at cuts to the service.

Last month Talk of the Town revealed that Garda numbers in Dundalk had fallen by 12% in the last five years with the number of Gardaí in the rest of the division – taking in Blackrock, Carlingford, Dromad, Hackballscross and Omeath – falling by 13.4% during the same period.

The 40 extra Gardaí would bring numbers up to their highest in over a decade.

The increase follows an announcement in this week’s Budget that 600 new Gardaí would be provided for nationwide next year.

A breakdown of serving gardaí in Louth from 2008-2013. The number had fallen yet again when assessed last month

Meanwhile, investigators believe Garda-killer Adrian Crevan Mackin was planning a much bigger attack than that which was foiled by the intervention of Garda Tony Golden.

Adrian Crevan Mackin

According to a report in today’s Irish Independent, Gardaí recovered a second high-powered Glock automatic pistol and 700 rounds of ammunition hidden in his Crevan Mackin’s car after the gun attack on his former partner and the Garda, along with a number of cans filled with petrol.

A psychologist had also assessed Crevan Mackin as “extremely dangerous” and likely to pose a serious threat to others, particularly his partner Siobhán Phillips, who remains in a critical condition in hospital after also being shot in the incident at Mullach Alainn in Omeath on Sunday that claimed the life of Garda Golden.

Gardaí found a high-powered Glock automatic pistol and 700 rounds of ammunition hidden in his Crevan Mackin’s car, along with petrol cans.

Gardaí believe they will find more ammunition and possibly weapons when they start a search of the house in Omeath where he shot his partner and Garda Golden and took his own life with a Glock. The search is expected to start tomorrow and take several days.

Investigators believe that Crevan Mackin would have shot anyone else who entered the house on Sunday evening.

“The second hand gun was a working firearm and was found with a very large quantity of ammunition in the car and cans of petrol… it is clear that Crevan Mackin was planning a much bigger attack last Sunday evening,” he said.

“As the background to this horrific incident is being unravelled, it is becoming clear that Crevan Mackin was intent on murder and may also have been contemplating attacking Siobhán’s family.

“The picture that is emerging is of a completely out-of-control, extremely violent individual.

“There will be questions to be asked in coming days and weeks as to why more information was not sent to the Garda authorities because it may have changed the way gardaí approached Mackin,” the source added.

Crevan Mackin, who shot his partner Ms Phillips several times, leaving her critically injured, had been involved in reactivating decommissioned handguns, which he was supplying to criminal gangs and terrorists.

He had been ordering deactivated guns online from firms in the US which he then received by post. The sale of such weapons is legal once the operating parts and firing mechanisms are removed.

Separately, he was also ordering gun parts online, which he then used to reactivate the replicas as lethal weapons.

Garda Tony Golden was “one of life’s gentlemen”

4,000 Gardaí line the streets of Blackrock as part of the funeral cortege. Picture: Niall Carroll

Garda Tony Golden was described as “one of life’s gentlemen” at his State funeral in Oliver Plunkett Church today.
Thousands gathered in the seaside village, including an estimate 4,000 Garda colleagues, to pay their respects to the father of three, who was the 88^th member of the force to be killed in the line of duty when he was shot dead in Omeath in Sunday.

The church was reserved for family members and official dignatories, including Taoiseach Enda Kenny, President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina, Garda Commissioner Noirin O’Sullivan, Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald and the chief constable of the PSNI George Hamilton.

Chief celebrant Fr Padraig Keenan, parish priest of Blackrock and Haggardstown, told mourners it was difficult to imagine the grief caused by Garda Golden’s death.

“One cannot imagine the pain and hurt that is experienced by the loss of those who loved Garda Tony,” Fr Keenan said.

“Tony quietly let his light shine in so many ways through his life in a very humble way. Amidst our sadness may we be thankful for the charisma of his beautiful but too short life.”

A Ballina Stephanites GAA club jersey and hurley and family photographs were brought to the altar in memory of Garda Golden. A garda colleague, Kevin Cleary, presented some of Garda Golden’s favourite hobbies and snacks – a remote control, a can of Coke, crisps, ‘Drifter’ bar of chocolate and Hunky Dorys.

Father Keenan said news of Garda Golden’s death had shattered Co Louth and beyond on Sunday evening.

“In the stillness of a beautiful Sunday evening, last Sunday, we shared as a nation in the joy of a momentous sporting moment on the playing field of the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff,” he said.

“That stillness was shattered in the picturesque village of Omeath as it became the centre of national and international coverage in light of the tragic events that unfolded.

“The magnitude of what took place brings to mind all those who have been affected in so many ways.

“Tragically it resulted in the cold blooded murder of Garda Tony Golden in the line of duty.  Murder is evil, murder has no place in our society.  Murder must stop.  All forms of violence must stop.

“We remember in our thoughts and prayers the young woman Siobhan who is seriously injured.

“Garda Tony is the 88th member of An Garda Síochána who has died protecting our country, our society and our community.

“It is 88 members too many.

“He like all the others is mourned by the entire nation.

“His murder brings to mind once again all the families and communities that have been affected on our island.”

Mourners heard how North Louth has been affected by the Troubles in years gone by and how Garda Golden’s death was a harsh reminder of the death of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe at Lordship Credit Union in Bellurgan in January 2013.

“Too many hearts have been broken, and lives shattered,” Fr Keenan told the church.

“I say on this day, from the depths of my heart – and I am sure I speak for all people of goodwill – when I say that there is no place for violence in our society, violence is wrong, always wrong.

“As a husband, father, son, brother family member and friend, each and every one of his family circle expressed such love and pride for Tony.

“Tony was one of life’s gentlemen.  As Patrick his brother said to me, “A big gentle giant”, a lovely man.

“He had a charisma that was calm, gentle and polite, as reflected in our second reading.

“Tony showed us a way to love that is better than anything else in life.  Tony with Nicola believed in life, a life that gave them hope in the spirit of love.

“Tony made his time on this earth beautiful in so many ways, and in one’s brokenness, they will be the memories to be always treasured and cherished forever.”

He assured the congregation that Tony’s spirit would be with his three children as they grow up.

Gardaí had earlier escored Tony’s remains from his house in Sandygrove to the church, with thousands of his colleagues lining the way to the church.

Large screens were erected in Blackrock so mourners could watch the funeral proceedings, with RTÉ providing a live audio broadcast on their website.

Tony is survived by his wife Nicola (nee O’Sullivan), children Lucy, Alex and Andrew, parents Breege and David, brothers David, Kenneth, Patrick and Sean, sister Mary, parents-in-law Tony and Iris, sisters-in-law Majella, Laura, Aisling and Tara, brother-in-law Jonathan, aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, nieces, relatives, friends and colleagues in An Garda Síochána.

Earlier, former Justice Minister and local TD Dermot Ahern described Blackrock as “shattered” by the tragedy.

“I’m a member of this community, born and bred, and we’re absolutely shattered,” he said.

“Tony’s wife is a local here; I know her and I know her parents very well. I knew Tony. And the whole place is just completely shattered with what’s happened.”

Burial will follow the funeral in Heynestown Cemetery.