The widow of Det Garda Jerry McCabe has confronted Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams in New York and said she felt condemned by republicans for trying to stop her husband's killers from being released from prison.
Ann McCabe, whose husband was killed by the IRA in Adare, Co Limerick, in 1996, accused Mr Adams of not answering her question about his support for the release of the four men involved in the killing.
Mr Adams told Ms McCabe that he sympathised and that he also had lost friends, family and neighbours to the conflict. He said Sinn Féin had signed up to the Belfast Agreement, which included the released of all political prisoners.
Ms McCabe confronted Mr Adams after he spoke at a public meeting on Tuesday night in the heavily Irish-populated area of Woodlawn in Yonkers.
After Mr Adams asked for audience questions, Ms McCabe identified herself and asked why Sinn Féin was supporting the release of the four men.
She remained standing after Mr Adams had answered her question and later said she did not get satisfactory answers from the Sinn Féin leader.
Ms McCabe was in New York for yesterday morning's Det Garda Jerry McCabe Fellowship Breakfast, an annual event at Manhattan's John Jay College.
Addressing the event, Minister for Transport Martin Cullen said the killing of Det Garda McCabe and the wounding of his colleague Garda Ben O'Sullivan were "cold-blooded, callous and merciless acts".
He added: "The Government have nothing but admiration for the dignified and reserved way in which Ann McCabe and her family have endured this continuing great loss."
Mr Cullen said Garda McCabe's killers did not qualify for release under the Belfast Agreement.