The sequence of events at the Allied Irish Bank at Abbeyleix yesterday afternoon is not yet fully clear. But it appears that Garda John Eiffe encountered or came between members of a robbery gang and their target and died because he was doing his duty.
The sympathy of the public goes to the family, friends and the colleagues of Garda Eiffe who were present at the scene. There are no words which can adequately describe the devastation of knowing that a husband and father is not coming home or that a colleague is dead after what must have started as a routine day. Any loss of a loved one is painful. When it happens in violent circumstances like these, the pain is increased manifold.
For many years, Ireland - or at least this part of it - was one of the safest places in the world to be a police officer. The death by shooting of a garda on duty - whatever the circumstances - was so infrequent that citizens could recite the names of deceased officers years after the event. Gardai still rarely die on duty by comparison with officers in most other jurisdictions.
But the chance of death or serious injury on duty is not negligible. The men and women of the force carry a risk on behalf of the rest of us, a risk which society must not take for granted.
There will be understandable anguish among garda∅ and their families after this tragic event. There was a time when even the most hardened of Irish criminals would baulk at carrying firearms or risking the sort of incident which developed at Abbeyleix. But the reality is that those days are in the past and are unlikely to return.
The certainty of detection and lengthy imprisonment are most likely to break the criminal's resolve to embark upon such enterprises. That must be where Garda Eiffe's bereaved colleagues must now concentrate their professional efforts.
Meanwhile the Garda authorities will have to consider urgently what operational lessons, if any, may be drawn from this tragic loss of life. In any situation where firearms are employed - or in which their use may be anticipated - the potential for tragedy is real. Modern, professional police forces seek to perfect their training and equipment to the point where risk is minimised. Let nobody pretend this is easy. But if failures or mistakes occur they must be fully investigated and preventive measures must be put in place to prevent any possible recurrence.