A detective garda attached to the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) did not dwell on the fact that John McCarthy, having just one cartridge in his shotgun, would be completely defenceless if he then fired just one shot, the Barr Tribunal was told yesterday.
Det Garda Ronan Carey, on a point of clarification requested by Mr Justice Robert Barr, also said he had not dwelt upon the fact that John Carthy had members of the ERU in his sight, but had not fired his shotgun at them.
Garda Carey also said that a third factor, that John Carthy was walking along the right-hand margin of the road and not directly towards the Garda command point, had not influenced his thinking.
Responding to counsel for the tribunal, Mr Michael MacGrath SC, Garda Carey said his "mind-set" was that John Carthy had live ammunition, had a shotgun, had live ammunition in the shotgun, the gun was closed, and John Carthy was advancing towards people. Earlier in his 20-hour involvement in the siege in Abbeylara in April 2000, Garda Carey believed gardaí would be able to secure the gun safely.
But when John Carthy came out carrying the gun, first walking casually then speeding up and crouching slightly and looking like he might be heading in the general direction of the garda command point, "there was no doubt in my mind that John Carthy was going to fire that gun at or in the direction of the gardaí".
Under cross-examination from Mr Michael O'Higgins SC, for the McCarthy family, Garda Carey acknowledged that his statement had been made after he had seen a chronology of events compiled by another officer and referred to as "O'Sullivan's Log".
Mr Higgins suggested to Garda Carey that John Carthy had "come out with his gun open" and was no threat and that "your reaction and that 'of your colleagues was extremely inappropriate". Garda Carey said whatever was done was done to "give space to John, not to provoke him and not to be reckless". The tribunal continues.