DET GARDA Jerry McCabe was a married man with five children who lived on a quiet estate off the Ennis road outside Limerick city. A native of Ballylongford, Co Kerry, Det McCabe (52) joined the force in 1964 and had been based in Limerick for more than 20 years.
A former rugby player, he was a keen golfer and angler and was described by a colleague as a pleasant type of fellow". The local priest, Father John Daly, described him as "a very good family man and neighbour, keenly interested in sport
The family was "stunned" by what had happened, he said, as were their neighbours.
Det McCabe was married to Ann Caniffe, a native of Co Limerick and the daughter of a garda. The couple have five children: John (27), Mark (25), Ian (24) Stacey (17) and Ross (16).
John is a uniformed garda based in Monaghan Garda station. He was on his way to work yesterday morning when he heard news of the fatal shooting in Adare. The couple's only daughter, Stacey, was due to sit her Leaving Certificate yesterday. The youngest son, Ross, was to sit his Junior Certificate.
Mark, an electrician married and living in Dublin, and Ian, a recent graduate of the University of Limerick, gathered with the rest of the family in their home.
Det Garda McCabe's sisters, Kay, Eileen, Maria and Nuala, and his brother, Michael, all live in and around Limerick city, as does his elderly father, John. The family still has a house in Ballylongford and visits there regularly.
Del Garda McCabe was the third eldest in a family of six.
The former Minister for Justice, Mr Des O'Malley, said he had known Del Garda McCabe for about 25 years. The last time they had met was at the recent British Irish Interparliamentary Body meeting in Adare, and Mr O'Malley had remarked on the heavy security presence. "Jerry McCabe said `You know this is a dangerous kind of an area and we can't take any risks'," Mr O'Malley said.
"Little did I think that a month later in the very same village his words would come true and he would himself be murdered".