Crime & Law

‘It is an abnormal job’: Garda sergeant honoured for facing down deer hunter on armed rampage

Man dressed in camouflage opened fire around Glenties, Co Donegal in February 2020 after drinking and taking cocaine

Sgt Eamon Griffin received a policing excellence award from the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors at its annual conference in Westport, Co Mayo

Conor Lally
Wed Mar 27 2024 - 16:00

A Garda sergeant has described fearing for his life as bullets whizzed past him when an armed deer hunter opened fire in a Co Donegal village while under the influence of drink and drugs.

Sgt Eamon Griffin said he was determined to confront Stephen Dowling, who was dressed in camouflage when he fired his rifle around Glenties early on February 22nd, 2020.

“You have a clarity of thought,” he said. “For that night, my main objective was to apprehend this person, no matter what the cost, because he was a severe danger to everybody. You do have clarity of thought and you’re able to make decisions clearly. And thankfully it worked out.”

Terrified people ran for cover as the welder marched through the town “like a soldier” shooting at gardaí, civilians, buildings and cars. Dowling let off up to nine shots during the hour-long episode.

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Gardaí told his trial two years ago it was a miracle that nobody was seriously injured or killed, while other witnesses said what occurred that night was like something from the “wild west”.

[ Man who went on shooting rampage in Donegal jailed for eight years ]

Sgt Griffin, who is based in Ballybofey and has been a Garda member for 40 years, received a policing excellence award from the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) at its annual conference in Westport, Co Mayo. He previously received the force’s Scott Medal for Bravery.

He said being recognised by his peers was “a great honour and a privilege”.

“Of course you think what could have happened,” he said of seeing Dowling open fire. “Lots of things could have happened. I could have lost my life. One of my colleagues could have lost their lives.

“I could see him aiming at me before he fired the gun. And then when he fired the gun, I could see the flash from the rifle. I didn’t actually believe he was going to shoot at me at that stage. It happened so suddenly and you’re there ... You don’t believe that somebody’s going to shoot you. That bullet came within inches. I could actually hear the bullet going by my ear.”

While Sgt Griffin and his colleagues called for backup from the Armed Support Unit, he said he knew he did not have time to wait until his armed colleagues reached Glenties.

“This fella had to be stopped at all costs,” he said. “You couldn’t stay in the station and wait for somebody to come; you had to go out and confront him. It’s part instinctive, but it is training as well. That is what we are trained for and that is what we are sworn to do. We are sworn to protect. It is part of your job.”

He said that when working as a garda “your whole life could change” in a matter of minutes.

“It is an abnormal job. You go out there and you don’t know what’s going to happen in the next 10 minutes,” he said. “It hit me about two days later. Your body’s been pumped full of adrenaline. When it goes out of your body, it’s then you have time to reflect on it.”

Dowling was eventually overpowered and arrested after he mistakenly believed he had run out of bullets. He had been hunting earlier with a group and, after shooting a deer for the first time ever, went to a number of pubs to celebrate.

The Carlow native had brought cocaine with him and also consumed a large quantity of alcohol. He then became aggressive and was refused service in some pubs. He went back to the B&B he was staying in, changed back into his hunting gear and retrieved his high-powered Tikka 3X rifle from his car. He returned to the village and fired towards people, moving cars, houses and the gardaí.

At one point he got into a BMW car driven by a local pizzeria worker and was waving his rifle around. He then got out of the car and fired at the vehicle, shattering the back window and hitting the passenger seat headrest. A second man, Edward Gallagher, also got caught up in the crossfire and contacted gardaí.

In 2022, Dowling, then aged 25 and with an address at Burren Road, Carlow, pleaded guilty to five charges of criminal damage and six charges of having possession of weapons including a rifle and a hunting knife with intent to endanger life or cause damage to property. He was jailed for a total of eight years.

Conor Lally

Conor Lally

Conor Lally is Security and Crime Editor of The Irish Times

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