Garda Reynold's remaining family, his three brothers and sister, gathered outside the Special Criminal Court at Green Street after yesterday's brief judgment in the case against Sean Hughes to thank the officers who had investigated their brother's murder.
Mr Francis Reynolds, who joined the Garda immediately after his brother's death, said: "We want to record our appreciation of the members who investigated the case and persevered to bring it to a conclusion. They all did a wonderful job." The family wished to say little more. The murder had "devastated" the family and their mother, Molly, died five years after her son. Their father, Patrick, died only last year.
Mr Francis Reynolds had been accepted into the Garda Siochana and was due to travel to Templemore to start his training on the Wednesday after his brother was murdered. He went on to join the force and serves in Granard, Co Longford. One brother, Enda, lives in Dublin. The three other members of the family, Mary, T. J. and John live in Sligo. The family farm is outside Boyle, Co Roscommon.
One of the officers with Garda Reynolds on the night he was murdered was retired Garda Sgt Paddy O'Brien, a former president of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors. "He was a grand young fellow, very polite and good at his job, a typical young west of Ireland man. He was quiet and reserved. None of use knew he had a girl friend until she appeared at the funeral," said Mr O'Brien.
"He went home practically every weekend or second weekend. He was a great chap."
Mr O'Brien, who still sings with the Garda Choir, showed clear signs of emotion as he gave evidence in the witness box earlier this week about the night his colleague was killed. The murder occurred in Tallaght just hours after voting closed in the February 1982 general election.
"It happened on a Saturday morning. We were on the 10 to six shift. His last job was to bring fish and chips up to another garda who was minding the ballot boxes at a store up at Balrothery. He went to the chipper and was back at the station when the call came in around 1.30 a.m. "The call was about a car or two cars. It was not unusual for stolen cars to turn up and for fellows to be going in and out of vacant flats with stolen goods. That was run-of-the-mill around Tallaght at nights at that time.
"None of us was armed. Three of us were in uniform and the fourth man was in plain clothes." Garda Reynolds left his motorbike in the station and went with his four colleagues by squad car to the scene.
The other officers present were Det Garda Michael McMahon, who is still serving in Crumlin, and two uniformed officers, Garda Tom Quinn and Garda Leo Kenny.
"It was a very traumatic experience for us. There was no help at all, no counselling nor visits by senior management. Nobody asked us how we were or how we got on. Experiences like that can have a terrible effect, even years later."
The murder attracted relatively little coverage as newspapers were full of general election results and news of the steps to form the Fianna Fail government under Mr Charles Haughey.
"I was very upset too by the way the press treated it. The front page of the Sunday Press the next day had no mention. There was just a big story about the election and a picture of lion cubs born at the Zoo.
"There was only a single column, like an obituary notice on the inside page.
"In the witness box, it was the first time I had spoken openly about it for years. I don't mind saying I practically broke down. I think I was always too upset to talk about it.
"He was shot through the heart, shot as he was coming down the stairway from the flat after they had seen the guns. He was coming down the stairs when he was shot in the back.
"The momentum carried him down the stairs and he came running out after me and fell."
There was a huge turnout of gardai and their families as Garda Reynolds's coffin was taken from Dublin.
His girlfriend, Ms Beatrice McBride, a nurse from Fintona, Co Tyrone, walked beside his coffin as it was carried from Mount Argus Church, down Clanbrassil Street and Patrick Street to the quays for its journey westward for burial in Boyle.
Garda Patrick Reynolds was one of the 13 gardai killed on duty by republicans between 1970 and 1996.