Books of condolences for Detective Donohoe

FLAGS were flying at half mast this week at Ennis, Killaloe, Kilrush, Shannon and Ennistymon Garda Stations following the gunning down of detective garda Adrian Donohoe at the Lordship Credit Union at Bellurgan, Dundalk, last Friday night.
Detective Donohoe’s death shocked the nation and the community in Kilkee, where his wife Caroline Deloughrey is from and where the couple were married. People in the town are reeling from the news that his life had been so brutally cut short at 41 years of age. 
Books of condolences have been opened this week at Ennis, Killaloe, Kilrush and Ennistymon Garda Stations and locals have not been slow to turn up to pay their respects.
The books of condolences will remain in place at the district offices for the coming days.
Although Chief Superintendent John Kerin is currently out of the country, Clare’s Garda Division was represented by Superintendents Gerard Wall and Derek Smart. Other senior gardaí and members of the force who know the family also attended the funeral.
Speaking about the shooting and the effect it has had in Clare, Inspector Tom Kennedy said, “His death has shocked and appalled the membership. The callous shooting of Detective Donohoe rattled everybody in the context of why it would happen, the way it happened and the tragedy of it. We are overwhelmed by the amount of support, goodwill and phone calls that have been made to garda stations in Clare and by people who have called to the garda stations with tokens such as mass cards, flowers and kind gestures from members of the public who have no connection with the gardaí ordinarily but who have been so affected by this. He was a detective carrying out his duty and he was needlessly gunned down in such a way that there was absolutely no chance given to him. It was a blatant slaughter of a garda and that is what has shook people most. It’s that threat to law enforcement in the country that has shocked people and that has swept the country.”
Inspector Kennedy said that while there has been no issuing of procedural changes to gardaí in the wake of this tragedy, he said he expected a full review of procedures around cash-in-transit duties and at vulnerable premises would take place.
“It is very important that a debrief takes place and that we learn from the events that have taken place but nothing has been mentioned of that as of yet,” he said.  
A meeting of the joint policing committee was due to be held on Monday but following the tragedy, the committee agreed to adjourn it and members offered their sympathies to the Donohoe family and to the gardaí.
Chairman of the committee, Councillor Joe Arkins said it was “a very sad occasion for An Garda Síochána and for society in general”. 
The State funeral of the late Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe was held at St Joseph’s Redemptorists’ Church, St Alphonsus Road, Dundalk, at 12.30pm on Wednesday. 
As a mark of respect, a minute’s silence was observed in the garda districts in Clare at 12.30pm.
Meanwhile, the Irish League Of Credit Unions has offered a reward of €50,000 for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the killers of Detective Donohoe.