Members of the Emergency Response Unit named by three national newspapers during the John Carthy inquest were dealt a "devastating blow", says the official publication of the Garda Representative Association.
An editorial in the current edition of the Garda Review claims there could be no justification for the decision by The Irish Times, the Irish Examiner and the Star to ignore the wishes of the coroner and publish the names.
Mr Carthy (27) was shot dead during a siege at his home in Abbeylara, Co Longford, last April by members of the unit, which is trained to confront armed criminals and terrorists.
At the inquest the coroner, Dr Gerry McDonagh, asked the media not to publish the names of those members of the ERU who testified. He said it would be unfair to their privacy to publish their details but added that he had no power to compel the media not to publish them.
The Garda Review editorial says the Garda Siochana will reflect on the incident and analyse the entire matter in the cold light of day. It offers "sincere condolences" to the Carthy family at this tragic time.
"However, some of the broader aspects of the inquest, in our view, leave an unsettling feeling in the minds of individual members of An Garda Siochana as a result of media coverage," the editorial continues.
It says The Irish Times and the Irish Examiner ignored the coroner's request by naming the men, while the Star published a photograph of the members concerned.
"There can be no justification for ignoring the wishes of the coroner," the paper says. "The Irish Times and others are now endeavouring to justify their position by suggesting that it is in the public interest that members of An Garda Siochana as public servants are made accountable and, while they did not take their decision lightly, they felt it was appropriate that the names of the members should be so published," it said.
These newspapers "seem to have forgotten all too quickly that the members who were attached to the unit concerned are the members who on a daily basis offer this State protection from those who seek to destroy it.
"Members of An Garda Siochana are familiar with the dangerous activities of certain sections of society who have no hesitation in killing. Like other citizens of this country we also benefit from the protection of the specialised unit to protect unarmed members of An Garda Siochana who police this State in the name of the people as guardians of a fragile peace.
"Was it right then or can there be any justification for publicly exposing members of An Garda Siochana who perhaps tomorrow or next week will be dealing with a very different group of ruthless people who now have access to their identities and that of their families?"
The editorial says gardai accepted they were accountable at all times and were prepared to be accountable in giving evidence at the inquest. "Therefore, there could be no useful and indeed no logical reason to publish and indeed photograph servants of our State who act on behalf of the people in difficult circumstances," it adds.
No amount of justification by the media would "alter the right-thinking minds of citizens that the media concerned who rejected the coroner's express wish could have done so for no other reason other than monetary gain in order to sell their product."
The editorial concludes: "At the outset, we accept that this is a time for reflection, and the members who have been involved in this incident and their families will now have to reflect for some time into the future and to continue to look over their shoulders as a result of being clearly identified as members of An Garda Siochana, who play one of the most important roles in maintaining the security of this State. They have been dealt a devastating blow by certain sections of the media."