The tribunal into the shooting dead of Mr John Carthy at Abbeylara in 2000 resumes in Longford today.
Mr Carthy was shot dead by the Garda Emergency Response Unit outside his home in Abbeylara on April 20th, 2000.
He had been suffering from depression, and was shot dead as he walked from his home carrying his legally-held shotgun, following an overnight standoff with gardaí.
The tribunal, under the chairmanship of Mr Justice Barr, is opening in Longford to allow the families and friends of Mr Carthy easy access to the proceedings. It will continue later in Dublin.
In his opening statement last month, Mr Justice Barr said the inquiry would have six modules: the background to the fatal shooting; the circumstances surrounding it; the response of the Garda Emergency Response Unit; the cause of Mr Carthy's death; how the police in other jurisdictions deal with such situations; and a review of statute law regarding gun licences and police training.
Mr Michael McGrath SC will present today "a flavour" of the information gathered in the first two modules on behalf of the tribunal's legal team, according to a spokesman for the tribunal.
This will include Mr Carthy's personal and medical history; his history relating to his ownership and control of firearms; his dealings with the Garda Síochána; whether his doctors were aware he possessed a firearm and their attitude to it if they did; and the attitude of his family, friends and neighbours to his possession of a firearm.
There will also be an outline of what the tribunal has discovered relating to the circumstances that gave rise to the fatal shooting; Mr Carthy's demeanour in the week before his death; the request for Garda intervention at this home and what subsequently happened; whether he was provided with food and medication during the confrontation; the number of shotgun rounds fired; and the deployment of the Emergency Response Unit.
The Barr tribunal was set up following a Supreme Court ruling that the joint Oireachtas committee on Justice, Defence and Women's Rights could not conduct an inquiry into the events surrounding the death.
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties, which has been campaigning for a judicial inquiry since the shooting, yesterday welcomed the resumption of the tribunal and called for it to receive adequate resources.
It also stressed the urgent need for a Garda Ombudsman.