Sir, - I am proud to add my support to the many people, particularly Mrs Ann McCabe, who have expressed their opposition to the release of the killers of Jerry McCabe, before they have served their full sentence for his savage killing.
We should be reminded that over 20 shots were fired into the body of this garda and six into his colleague as they sat in their patrol car while escorting a cash-carrying vehicle. The perpetrators of these barbaric acts surrounded the vehicle and opened fire on the detectives. If money was all that mattered to them they could have held the detectives at gunpoint without inflicting injury and death.
That these criminals should have been convicted only of manslaughter, given their evil deeds, raises serious questions about the law and its application and adds insult to the bravery and sacrifice of Jerry McCabe and his colleague Ben O'Sullivan. To release these killers prematurely would be even more repugnant.
By donating some of the proceeds of their crimes, criminals of this type can buy themselves into the protecting umbrella of the so-called republican movement. Republicanism in this country has suffered since the 1920s from this kind of convenient schizophrenia by allowing hardened criminals to be part of the republican family and the advantages that seem to go with it in the present climate.
These criminals have not only hijacked the term "republicanism" to suit their own needs but have also been allowed to usurp our national flag for the same ends. Our flag, symbolising peace between orange and green, rightly adorned the coffin of the brave Irishman, Garda Jerry McCabe. The irony that this flag, by its blatant misuse, could also be used on the coffin of his killers when they make their last journey, is an insult to our nation and to all honourable people who serve it.
The Garda S∅ochβna since its foundation has stood proudly and bravely against threats, intimidation and murder in its efforts to protect the lives and property of the people of this State. It is time that many of its critics came off the fence and supported it.
We must stand unflinchingly in the support of this noble, brave and dignified lady, Ann McCabe, and ensure that her husband's sacrifice, not to mention that of his family and many more like them, has not been in vain and that these killers should serve every minute of their meagre sentences. - Yours, etc.,
Philip F Callanan, Tullow, Co Carlow.