Mr Justice Barr has said the tribunal of inquiry into the shooting dead of Mr John Carthy at Abbeylara, four years ago, will continue whether or not members of the Garda Síochána decide to be legally represented. He should be commended. The right of the public to know precisely what happened in the hours leading up to that tragic event was authorised by the Government and by the Dáil. That decision reflected public concern over the finding of an official Garda investigation that Mr Carthy's death could not have been avoided.
Mr Justice Barr yesterday sought to meet Garda concerns by making an early finding that no fifth bullet had been fired at Mr Carthy, following the hearing of expert medical evidence during the week. A question by the chairman in relation to this possibility, before Christmas, led to strenuous and heated objections by Mr John Rogers SC, for the gardaí involved, and culminated later in the withdrawal of their legal teams. That withdrawal placed pressure on the chairman; delayed the work of the tribunal and added to the public cost. It is to be hoped that full legal representation will be in place next Tuesday when the hearing resumes.
Members of the Garda and their representatives consistently resisted a broad investigation into events at Abbeylara. Thirty-six gardaí, including members of the Emergency Response Unit, successfully challenged the authority of an Oireachtas committee to hold a sworn public inquiry in 2001, having failed to secure exemption on the grounds that their giving evidence could interfere with the prosecution of crime or compromise national security. The High Court found the Oireachtas committee had exceeded its authority because its findings might damage the good name, reputation or careers of members of the Garda.
Mr Rogers successfully represented the gardaí involved on that occasion. Later, a 5-2 ruling by the Supreme Court upheld the decision and caused the present tribunal to be established by the Government.
The Barr tribunal was instituted to establish the facts surrounding the death of Mr Carthy. It is not a criminal trial. And the rules of our adversarial court system should not apply. Members of the Garda are, indeed, entitled to protect their reputations and to be legally represented. But the family of the dead man also deserves a full and rigorous examination of what took place and why. The findings of the initial Garda investigation may be fully vindicated at the end of this process. For that to happen, however, the tribunal must complete its work. And it should receive the co-operation of all concerned.