Taoiseach Bertie Ahern made a surprise appearance at a meeting between Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan and the parents of murdered South Armagh man Paul Quinn in Leinster House yesterday.
Mr Ahern stayed for 10 minutes to express his sympathy with Stephen and Briege Quinn and to assure them they had his total support and the support of the Government and the Garda in their search for justice.
Speaking to reporters afterwards, Mrs Briege Quinn said the meeting had gone "very well" and she and her husband were "very pleased" with it. The Taoiseach "sympathised with us and said that the Irish Government was doing their best".
Mr Ahern had also assured them "that Paul's name was cleared of criminality".
In relation to his suggestion in the Dáil last month that the murder "pertained to feuds about criminality", Mrs Quinn said: "He cleared that [up] during the week, so we are very, very happy." They had expressed their thanks to the Taoiseach for his clarification.
Mr Lenihan had assured them that the Garda were "doing their very best, they're working extra-hard" on the investigation and that he would "make sure it won't be swept under the carpet".
"We're very happy in the days coming up to Christmas that Paul's name has been cleared of criminality," she added.
"We're very happy with the Irish Government - they're working really hard."
She had been assured at the meeting that "the PSNI and the Garda are working, working, working, working to make sure that they get a conviction, and we are happy enough with that."
Asked what she would say if she met local Sinn Féin MP and the North's Minister for Regional Development, Conor Murphy, Mrs Quinn replied: "I don't know what I would say to him, I'd like to meet him face to face and then I'd know what I'd say to him."
The 45-minute meeting was also attended by SDLP Assembly member for Newry and Mourne Dominic Bradley who told reporters: "One of the things that makes this investigation much more difficult is the fact that those responsible for Paul's murder sprayed the scene of the crime with chemicals in order to destroy DNA traces which would have been central in bringing about a resolution."
Fianna Fáil TD for Cavan-Monaghan Margaret Conlon said: "I had requested a meeting with the Taoiseach and Minister Lenihan because I felt, in the run-up to Christmas and what will be a very difficult Christmas for the Quinn family, any comfort or reassurance that the Irish Government could give them to ease the burden and pain that they feel was certainly to be welcomed."
Mr Bradley said Mr and Mrs Quinn would be meeting Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward tomorrow at Stormont.
"What the Minister said was that there has been a huge effort on behalf of An Garda Síochána and that that effort will continue until Paul's killers are brought to justice.
"There has been a tremendous response to the Garda effort from the people of South Armagh. The guards are very pleased with that and would like anyone who has any information . . . to do so as quickly as possible."
He said Mr Ahern had assured the Quinns that the Irish Government would leave no stone unturned until Paul Quinn's killers were brought to justice.
