Son of garda killed in Troubles opposes McGuinness

LETTER:THE SON of the first garda killed in the Republic following the outbreak of the Troubles has supported Ann McCabe in opposing the presidential candidature of Martin McGuinness.

Finian Fallon has also offered solidarity with all, North and South, “whose family and friends were murdered, injured or traumatised as a result of the Troubles”. He called for a truth and reconciliation commission “for the whole island which would have a statutory footing in both jurisdictions and which would call to account all of those whose hands are drenched in the blood of others”.

He is a son of Garda Richard Fallon, a Roscommon native, who, at 43, was shot twice during a bank raid in 1970 by paramilitary group Saor Éire at Arran Quay in Dublin. He was the first member of An Garda Síochána to be murdered after the outbreak of the Troubles in 1969 and also the first garda to be posthumously awarded the Scott Gold Medal for bravery in the line of duty.

In a letter to The Irish Times, Finian Fallon has said the circumstances of his father’s death brought “an additional layer of complexity to the story of the Troubles. For it is my belief that my father’s murder occurred due to the complicity and cowardice of the government of the Republic in responding to the violence and prejudice directed at Catholics in the North at the time. The truth of this sorry tale has yet to be acknowledged.”

He said, “many of us could never agree to the righteousness of murdering another human being in the pursuit of political beliefs. That Mr McGuinness should continue to do so marks him as a man who recognises no constitution but his own and those who surround him. His candidacy ignores those whose experiences have not yet been honoured with any adequate truth.”

Ann McCabe’s husband, Det Garda Jerry McCabe, was shot dead by the Provisional IRA during an armed robbery at Adare, Co Limerick, in 1996.

In Athlone, on October 14th,David Kelly, whose father Pte Patrick Kelly was shot dead by the IRA during a joint Garda and Army operation to rescue businessman Don Tidey in 1983, confronted Mr McGuinness.