The family of John Carthy, the 27-year-old Co Longford man shot dead by gardai in April, were reported to be "deeply upset" yesterday by reports that the internal Garda inquiry into his death is likely to conclude that the officers at the scene acted appropriately.
Mr Carthy's family, which has issued only one statement through a solicitor calling for an independent inquiry into the killing, made no public comment on the reports in a Sunday newspaper.
However, sources close to them said they were very upset and would be taking further legal advice about seeking an independent inquiry.
The internal Garda inquiry, headed by a chief superintendent from Cork, is due to be completed by the end of this month. It will be complemented by another report by members of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) who carried out a brief review of the Garda action at Abbeylara on April 19th and 20th.
Mr Carthy, who was receiving psychiatric treatment before his death, was killed by four shots as he walked from his house. Gardai said he was armed with a shotgun and was pointing it at officers.
The 12-member unit of the Garda's heavily armed Emergency Response Unit (ERU) was called to the siege after Mr Carthy fired at a Garda squad car. The local gardai were responding to a call about a disturbance at the house.
Mr Carthy was prone to depression and there had been previous episodes when he had to be restrained. Gardai had been called to a fast-food restaurant in Galway last February when he caused a disturbance.
According to friends of his family, there is very considerable disquiet about the incident and also about the leaking of information to sections of the media. Information believed to have come from Garda sources has portrayed Mr Carthy as dangerous and someone with a grudge against the Garda.
Information was also released about the number of shots he allegedly fired from his shotgun. Several media outlets have also carried similar reports that the gardai had "no alternative" but to open fire.
A report in yesterday's Sunday Independent described Mr Carthy as a "manic depressive" and said gardai at the scene had been "forced to shoot him as he brandished his weapon while travelling towards a second Garda cordon where several unarmed officers stood".