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Garda Adrian Donohoe anniversary: "Nobody has been brought to justice for this callous, evil act"

It is exactly two years to the day Garda Adrian Donohoe was shot and killed in Lordship, Co Louth...
Newstalk
Newstalk

07.12 25 Jan 2015


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Garda Adrian Donohoe anniversa...

Garda Adrian Donohoe anniversary: "Nobody has been brought to justice for this callous, evil act"

Newstalk
Newstalk

07.12 25 Jan 2015


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It is exactly two years to the day Garda Adrian Donohoe was shot and killed in Lordship, Co Louth. The detective (41) had been attempting to prevent a robbery at his local credit union.

Nobody has been arrested or charged in relation to his death.

At the time, St Patrick's in Lordship became the centre point for people travelling to the area to pay respects.

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They fed visitors, they hosted gardaí and PSNI officers, politicians, busloads of people from all over Ireland. To visit the house during the wake, people parked in the GAA club and either walked or took a shuttle bus up to Adrian and Caroline’s house.

And at the time, I remember how fitting that was. Garda Donohoe was such an important person in that club. He lived next door, he played himself, he trained underage teams.

Now when you walk into the clubhouse, a special jersey is framed on the wall. It is a St Pat’s jersey but with a garda crest on it too. One of the underage teams plays in those jerseys and Caroline keeps them in her house between games.

Alan Duffy is on the club chairman and was chief organiser back in January 2013. Alan reflected on the fact that two years has passed.

The fact that nobody has been arrested or prosecuted is a huge issue in the community, like a cloud hanging over people.

Everyone mentioned it. Without prompting too. When I was there for the one year anniversary, there was a real hope that before long, something would have happened on this front. Yet 12 months down the line, still nothing.

Now that is hard to take for anyone but perhaps as adults we have a more nuanced view of the world. Children on the other hand expect people to be punished for doing wrong. And you will remember, a lot of children in the area would have known Adrian very well because he coached underage teams in the club.

The impact on them was something that Fergal Malone talked to me about.

Probably a single day up there does not go by without his death being marked. There are two pitches. One has been renamed Adrian Donohoe Park and they host an annual competition for the Adrian Donohoe memorial cup.

But in terms of this weekend, today the family will be making their own arrangements. Rose McEnaney who lived very close to Adrian and Caroline and knew Adrian well, gave the details of the public event that was held on Friday.

Alan made the point that while the event was about remembering Adrian and grieving on a personal level, it is also about the community, both locally and to an extent nationally, making a very public statement.


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