Family of murdered Mayo detective seek public inquiry
THE family of murdered Mayo Detective Garda Colm Horkan are seeking a public inquiry.
Detective Horkan died while on duty in Castlerea in June 2020 when he was shot with his official firearm after it was removed from its holster.
In a statement to RTÉ, the Horkan family said that revelations in the recent RTÉ Investigates programme have heightened their concerns and questions remain unanswered.
Seeking a public inquiry, RTÉ reported the family's statement: "Several persons, including protected disclosers, have stated repeatedly that it was known that this holster was faulty, that it was not fit for purpose.
"We want this for Colm but also so the public at large will know how these matters are dealt with and what happens to people such as these protected disclosers when they seek to raise matters within State bodies and in particular, An Garda Síochána.
"We have no confidence that we will ever know the truth in the absence of an independent public inquiry.
"The Minister for Justice and other authorities should have nothing to fear from a public inquiry, though our request in respect of this has on so many occasions fallen on deaf ears."
Mayo Aontú TD Paul Lawless has supported the Horkan family.
In a statement, he said: “The murder of Garda Colm Horkan shook the people of Mayo, and especially his neighbours and friends in Charlestown. For the local community it also brought back painful memories of the murders of Gardaí John Morley and Henry Byrne, both from Knock, in 1980.
“I commend the Horkan family for their public statement calling for a public inquiry, and for standing with the whistleblowers in their fight for justice.
“Aontú has met with the whistleblowers involved. The concerns they have raised are very serious, and in bringing them forward they have done the State a real service. The way they have been treated is shocking.
“Nothing short of a full, independent public inquiry will be acceptable. We will keep pressing for this in the Dáil in the coming days and weeks.”