Murder of Adrian Donohoe

Adrian Donohoe (born 1971, died aged 41) was a police detective working for An Garda Síochána, the national police service of the Republic of Ireland. Detective Garda Donohoe was attached to Dundalk Garda Station in County Louth, and was fatally shot in Bellurgan, Jenkinstown on the 25th January 2013 by an armed five man gang during a robbery on credit union vehicles. He was the fist Garda officer to be shot dead in the line of duty for 17 years.

Personal life

Adrian Donohoe was born (1971) in Kilnaleck, County Cavan to parents Peggy and Hugh. He grew up on a small farm with his three brothers - Alan, Colm and Martin, and two sisters - Anne and Mary. He was a keen Gaelic footballer, and played for his local club before going on to represent Cavan GAA at Under-21 level. Adrian attended nearby primary and secondary schools, before joining the Gardaí. Two of his brothers also joined the force, and in the early 1990's he met his wife Caroline at the Garda training college in Templemore.

Caroline Donohoe, who also had family members serving with the Gardaí, was stationed at the Garda National Immigration Bureau in Dundalk - the same building where her husband worked - and the couple had two young children, a boy and a girl aged 6 and 7, at the time of Adrian's death. Mr and Mrs Donohoe lived less than one kilometre away from where the shooting occurred, and both their children attended school across the road from the incident.

Shooting and robbery

Det Gda Adrian Donohoe and his colleague Det Gda Joe Ryan were on a routine cash escort on the evening of Friday, 25th January 2013. Garda Ryan was driving an unmarked police car, and both detectives were carrying police issue sidearms. The Garda Síochána are primarily an unarmed police force, however certain units of the service are armed (such as detectives) and up to 25% of members are licensed to carry firearms. The pair were en route to meet two local Credit Union officials at the Lordship Credit Union in Bellurgan, Jenkinstown, who would then travel in convoy to a bank in Dundalk Town to lodge takings in a nightsafe. This was regular practice, and the protocol had been recently upgraded from an unarmed, uniformed Garda escort to an armed, plain-clothes detective escort following a robbery that happened at the Credit Union 18 months prior, when €62,000 in cash and cheques was taken.

At approximately 9:30pm Donohoe and Ryan entered the carpark of the premises and they parked up. At this point a navy-blue 2008 Dublin registered Volkswagen Passat (that had been waiting in the car park) drove across and blocked the entrance. Adrian Donohoe opened his door and stepped out to investigate, and was instantly shot at close range in the head with a shotgun by a masked raider, who had been hiding behind a wall with accomplices wearing balaclavas. It was dark, and before Joe Ryan could realise what was taking place he was held at gunpoint by a number of gang members possessing a shotgun, handgun and a hammer. He was told to stay in his car. Neither officer had time to draw their handguns. The raiders then broke into a car carrying cash and cheques to the value of about €40,000, but only took a bag with €4,000, leaving behind more than €30,000. Det Gda Ryan was left physically uninjured as the five strong gang fled the scene, but he was dispossessed of his gun and left 'severely traumatised'. It was only after the perpetrators had escaped that the alarm could be raised.

The emergency services pronounced Adrian Donohoe deceased shortly after their arrival. Garda Headquarters scrambled all available units in an attempt to catch the fleeing suspects, and alerted the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). However, it is understood they had escaped to Northern Ireland before the border was secured by police on both sides. The Rep of Ireland-United Kingdom border can be crossed by car in around 10 minutes from the Lordship Credit Union, and neither force is allowed to cross the border. A Garda helicopter briefly entered UK airspace with permission during the search. A PSNI helicopter was also deployed during the search in the north.

Investigation

A full forensic examination was carried out at the scene over three days by the Garda Technical Bureau.

The post-mortem on the body of Adrian Donohoe took place at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda by the State Pathologist's Office.

Two days after the fatal shooting, a car matching the description of that used in the Credit Union hold-up was found burnt-out in a remote forested laneway in the village of Darkley near Keady, in south County Armagh in Northern Ireland. The PSNI carried out an extensive technical examination of the car and surrounding area. This area became a focus of the investigation.

The Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan attended a case conference at the Dundalk Garda Station, where an incident room was established for the duration of the investigation. Commissioner Callinan announced the allocation of 150 senior detectives to the case, led by Assistant Commissioner for the Northern Region, Kieran Kenny. National specialist units were also assigned to the investigation, including the Special Detective Unit - which generally deals with counter-terrorism, the heavily-armed National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Organised Crime Unit, dealing with criminals in the border regions. The Emergency Response Unit and Regional Support Units have been placed on high-alert in the region.

Aftermath

The death of Adrian Donohoe was strongly condemned by Taoiseach Enda Kenny, and other cabinet ministers both in the Republic and Northern Ireland. Minister for Justice Alan Shatter said that those responsible for murder had planned it, and would all face the mandatory 40 years in prison for killing a Garda. Commissioner Martin Callinan vowed to hunt down and apprehend the killers. The Police Service of Northern Ireland, under Chief Constable Matt Baggott, pledged their full cooperation and support to bring to justice the murderers.

There was widespread shock and outrage among the public on the island of Ireland following the shooting dead of Adrian Donohoe, the first Garda to be shot dead since Detective Garda Jerry McCabe in June 1996, by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). Jerry McCabe's widow Anne McCabe spoke of her sympathy for the Donohoe family, and retired Detective Garda Ben O'Sullivan - who was shot but survived the same incident as Jerry McCabe - signed a book of condolence for the family, friends and colleagues of the fallen officer.

Irish television programme Crimecall aired on RTÉ featuring Superintendent David Taylor of the Garda Press Office appealing to the public for their help in solving the case days after. The Irish League of Credit Unions offered a €50,000 reward for information leading to arrests and prosecutions in the investigation. A Facebook tribute to Adrian Donohoe received over 40,000 signatures within days of the killing.