Stun grenades not used in siege

Barr Tribunal: Stun grenades were available to gardaí at the time of the Abbeylara siege, but were not used at any time during the 25-hour armed stand-off with Mr John Carthy, the head of the Garda Emergency Response Unit has told the Barr tribunal.

The grenades, known as "flash bang" devices, were the main "less lethal" weapons open to use by gardaí in siege situations, and had been used in at least two previous sieges, Det Supt Patrick Hogan said. However, they were not brought to the scene at Abbeylara.

Det Supt Hogan explained that, in exercising less lethal options to defuse a situation, the first technique is to use clear verbal commands. This is generally followed by an attempt at physical restraint. If this is not possible, distraction devices called stun grenades can be used, he said.

"These are known as flash-bang devices and have an acoustic and visual component. Their purpose is to disorientate the inner ear.

"There would be three or four seconds where the subject would be standing disorientated, giving gardaí a tactical advantage."

Stun grenades had been used during an incident in a house in Brunswick Street, Dublin, where two members of the ERU had been shot. Following their deployment, the assailants surrendered. They were also used during a robbery where gunmen had taken hostages and were holed up in a van. Their use was again successful, he said.

Following the shooting dead of Mr Carthy outside his home in Abbeylara, Co Longford, the Garda Commissioner established a working group to look at the use of less than lethal weapons.

In October 2001 the group recommended the use of three less lethal weapons: "bean bag" shotgun cartridges, CS and OC gas shotgun cartridges, and CS and OC gas grenades.

Bean bags are fabric pouches filled with lead shot, which conform to the shape of the object fired at, and are not intended to penetrate the body.

CS, commonly known as tear gas, or OC, known as pepper spray, are used in cartridges which break on impact and disseminate the gas, forcing the subject to vacate their position. The grenades work in a similar fashion but do not need to hit an object to activate. These devices were on the market, but not available to gardaí, at the time of the Abbeylara siege.