An inquest into the death 4 1/2 years ago of a Raphoe man, Mr Richie Barron, is finally to be held next month. The inquest could help to clarify the cause of Mr Barron's death, as the Garda has never been able to confirm whether he was murdered or the victim of a hit-and-run accident.
The handling of the Garda investigation into Mr Barron's death led to allegations of corruption against members of the force in Co Donegal and the biggest internal inquiry in Garda history. Five civilians have so far been charged with making false statements and the inquiry team led by Assistant Commissioner Kevin Carty this week arrested a Garda sergeant.
The deputy coroner for north-west Donegal, Mr Sean Cannon, confirmed to The Irish Times that the inquest is now to go ahead and he expected it to open by the third week of July. Mr Cannon said he had only got the go-ahead from the DPP to hold the inquest in the last three weeks. Four other inquests ahead of it on the list would be held at the end of this month, but he would now contact witnesses and set a date for the Barron inquest.
It had been expected that if the inquest opened it would be adjourned because of the ongoing investigations, but Mr Cannon said he did "not see any problem" in going ahead with it.
The Barron family has been calling for an inquest for some time. Mr Barron's daughter, Ms Deirdre McGlinchey, this week said she and her family were very angry that her father's death had been largely forgotten amid all the publicity concerning allegations against gardai.
"We just seem to be lost in it all - with all these different allegations. But at the end of the day a man was battered to death walking home. The more allegations there are, the farther back in priority his case seems to go," she said.
Ms McGlinchey said her family was convinced that her father was murdered. She believes the injuries outlined in the pathologist's report confirm this.
"The injuries were all to his head and his hand as if he was trying to save himself. If he'd been hit by a car, he would have been trailed or rolled along the road, but there were no injuries to his lower body. His clothes weren't damaged and there were no brake marks on the road," she said.
A part of Mr Barron's broken dentures was found deep in his throat and he had a gaping head wound.
Ms McGlinchey is critical of the gardai for making what she believes were fundamental errors in the initial stages of the investigation, but she does not blame them entirely for the lack of progress, saying "a lot of mud was thrown". She also says some people in the town who made statements to the gardai later changed them. Investigating officers, she said, "came up against a brick wall".
Initially it was assumed that Mr Barron was the victim of a hit-and-run accident and the family did not become suspicious until they visited the hospital and talked with someone who was present during the autopsy.
Crucial evidence may have been lost because gardai failed to preserve the scene of death. His body was found on the outskirts of Raphoe shortly after 1 a.m. on October 14th, 1996, but by the time the scene was cordoned off at midmorning the following day, neighbours had innocently washed the blood off the roadside.
Ms McGlinchey said her family was also angry that the State Pathologist was not called to do the post-mortem examination. She said that on the day of the funeral detectives visited the family home and told them they were not sure if it had been a hit-and-run or an assault.
Other actions by gardai subsequently angered the family even more. Two years ago they were asked for permission for the body to be exhumed and were told it would happen within two weeks. The family expected the State Pathologist to examine the exhumed body, but the exhumation never happened and they heard nothing more of it. "They didn't even have the manners to come back and tell us that they were not doing it," she said. They had asked for an inquest, "until we were blue in the face".
A picture taken at a family wedding of a smiling Mr Barron, who was 54 when he died, sits on a sideboard in her livingroom beside photographs of her children. She said family members, particularly her mother who has to walk past the spot where he died every day, have not been able to get on with their lives. The death and subsequent controversy has created a lot of tension in the town.
She said she did not know why her father would be attacked and that he was not involved in any long-running feud with anyone. "He was a character. Sure he liked a drink, but he was not down the town having fights every weekend. He would have done anything for anyone," she said.
Ms McGlinchey said meetings with senior gardai had proved futile as they were only given "excuses". Contact with the gardai is now very irregular. She recently requested a meeting with the Minister for Justice, a request that was refused before.
"No one answers any questions. You could ask questions until you are blue in the face, which we are doing. What we want now is for them to finally make up their minds if they are going to exhume the body and to finally say officially that they believe he was murdered," she said.
Chief Supt Nacie Rice of the Donegal division said the gardai had no problem with an inquest being opened and a letter to this effect was sent in April. He said an investigation into the circumstances of Mr Barron's death was ongoing and they were "going back over various things". He hoped they would be able to establish what had happened. This was separate from the Carty inquiry, he said.
Chief Supt Rice said the post-mortem results were inconclusive and didn't throw "any great light" on whether it was an accident or an assault. "As far as we are concerned we will do our level best to reach a conclusion," he said.