The widow of Det Gda Jerry McCabe has dismissed the statement issued by the convicted killers of her husband as "irrelevant" and as a "PR exercise for Sinn Féin/IRA".
Mrs Ann McCabe said the statement issued last night by the four men serving sentences at Castlerea Prison was a "publicity stunt" and that she did not believe they had any remorse for their crime.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Pat Kennyshow, Mrs McCabe said the statement was designed to take the glare of publicity from Sinn Féin and the IRA over accusations levelled at them of involvement in "murder, criminality, racketeering, you name it".
Mrs McCabe said she had felt a "great sense of pride" in the reaction she got from people after she had questioned the Taoiseach over plans to release the killers as part of an overall peace deal.
She felt, however, their release should "never have been on the table". Mrs McCabe said the four men had never been eligible for release under the Belfast Agreement.
Det Garda McCabe's widow said the killers were saying they were not going to be pawns in the peace process.
"I felt I was a pawn in the peace process for a long time," she added.
Asked about her reaction to their statement of remorse, Mrs McCabe said she had "no interest" in this. She said one of the men had said, on the final day of the trial, that he had no remorse.
"Not that it matters . . . it doesn't matter. It's nine years too late and it won't bring Jerry back no matter what they say.
"I don't think they will ever come to remorse. They don't know the meaning of it. All they're interested in, I believe, is criminality and murder. And I can assure you, there would be one of those people, if and when he's released, quite capable of doing the same thing again. And God help the next family who has to face up to that," she said.
Mrs McCabe compared the situation to that faced by the McCartney sisters. She said there was "intimidation" of witnesses in the McCartney case and she called upon the Sinn Féin election candidate who was present in the bar on the night Mr McCartney was killed to go to the PSNI. She also called for changes to the law in relation to "intimidation of witnesses".
She also said remarks in a Sunday newspaper comparing Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams to the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat were "very appropriate".
"If you train or arm a terrorist, you are a terrorist. If you feed or fund a terrorist, you are a terrorist - I read that in the paper yesterday and it was very appropriate."
Mrs McCabe said there was nothing she could do about the fact that the release dates of her husband's killers would come within two years, in some cases.
In a statement yesterday from Castlerea Prison, the four men apologised for the killing of Det Gda McCabe and the serious wounding of Gda Ben O'Sullivan during an attempted robbery on a post office van in Adare, Co Limerick, in 1996.
Speaking in Limerick last night, Pat Kearney, a brother-in-law of the murdered garda, said the apology by the late detective's killers had come " a bit late" and that the McCabe family totally rejected the killers' claim they never intended to attack any member of the Garda Síochána.
In the statement, Kevin Walsh, Pearse McAuley, Jeremiah Sheehy and Michael O'Neill continued to protest that they are qualified for release under the Belfast Agreement, adding that this had been confirmed by the Supreme Court.
The statement said: "We deeply regret and apologise for this and the hurt and grief we have caused the families.
"There was never any intent to attack any members of the Garda Síochána."
The four men claimed the Government is "presenting our release as an obstacle to negotiations and an agreement. For this reason we do not want our release to be part of any further negotiations with the Irish Government".
The Garda Representative Association said it was highly cynical for the men to ask the people of Ireland to believe that his death was a dreadful accident.
Kevin McCarthy, chairman of the Limerick GRA, said it was no surprise to many GRA members that the gang were seeking early release.
"Yesterday's statement has once again forced us to, as it were, stick our heads above the parapet on this and to express our dismay at their statement," he said.
"They are opportunists in the extreme." He said it was a highly cynical exercise. "I have no doubt at all, with a capital C," he said.
"The GRA was at the forefront all along looking for an apology but you must put that into the context of which the apology is made. In this case one would treat it with a large grain of salt."
Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said last night the statement from the men "simply recognises the reality" that the Government has already ruled out any consideration of the early release of the men in future talks.
In the North, unionists dismissed the prisoners' statement as dishonest and selfish; the SDLP said it was beyond belief.
Ulster Unionist Michael McGimpsey queried the timing, bearing in mind the pressure republicans were under at the moment.