theirishtimes--2020-08-11--Environment group launches legal challenge over ‘alien’ tree species planting

An environmental protection group has launched a High Court challenge against a decision to allow what it claims is an “ alien species ” of tree to be planted at a site in Co Leitrim .
The action has been brought by the Save Leitrim Group ( Save Leitrim Environmental and Biodiversity Group CLG ) , which claims the decision to allow Sitka Spruce to be grown at a forestry development on a 13.3-hectare site at Meenymore , Dromohair , Co Leitrim is flawed and should be quashed .
The group says it has brought the action over its deep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Sitka Spruce within Co Leitrim .
It claims Sitka Spruce developments can completely obliterate landscapes over a very wide area .
These developments can completely remove cultural landscapes , and leave large tracts of afforested lands which are dark , foreboding and eliminate all life on the forest floor .
Such forests provide a higher commercial return than agriculture in the area , meaning that local people can not compete with forestry when it comes to building up sustainable farms sizes that could provide a reasonable standard of living , it claims @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the local environment , ecosystems and wildlife , the group claims .
The site , which it says is in a particularly scenic location , is close to two protected sites , or Special Areas of Conservation ( SAC ) , Lough Gill and Boleybrack Mountain .
It claims a decision to allow the forestry development go ahead was appealed to the Forestry Appeal Committee which last May approved the development .
The group in its action says the committee erred in arriving at its decision in several respects .
It claims @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to see if the development would have any significant effects on the environment by the committee was neither appropriate nor in accordance with EU requirements .
The committee also failed to consider the characteristics of the proposed development , including its size , relationship with other developments , pollution and other nuisances , it claims .
In addition , the group says the development ’ s potential impacts on the existing population was not properly considered and that the committee failed to consider its submissions in that regard .
It claims a public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ development was neither visible nor legible from the public road , and failed to give adequate notice in respect of the development .
In its judicial review proceedings against the Forestry Appeal Committee , Ireland and the Attorney General , the group seeks an order quashing the committee ’ s decision .
The Save Leitrim Group also seeks several declarations including that committee has failed to comply with various EU directives including the habitats and screening directives .
It further seeks declarations that the State has failed to transpose various EU directives and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Agriculture Appeals Act , the 2014 Forestry Act and the 2017 Forestry Regulations .
The action was briefly mentioned before the High Court last week , and was adjourned to a date in November .

Such developments can adversely impact on the local environment, ecosystems and wildlife, the group claims. Photograph Nick Bradshaw
An environmental protection group has launched a High Court challenge against a decision to allow what it claims is an “alien species” of tree to be planted at a site in Co Leitrim.
The action has been brought by the Save Leitrim Group (Save Leitrim Environmental and Biodiversity Group CLG), which claims the decision to allow Sitka Spruce to be grown at a forestry development on a 13.3-hectare site at Meenymore, Dromohair, Co Leitrim is flawed and should be quashed.
The group says it has brought the action over its deep concerns about the “monoculture planting” of Sitka Spruce within Co Leitrim. It claims Sitka Spruce developments can completely obliterate landscapes over a very wide area.
These developments can completely remove cultural landscapes, and leave large tracts of afforested lands which are dark, foreboding and eliminate all life on the forest floor.
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Such forests provide a higher commercial return than agriculture in the area, meaning that local people cannot compete with forestry when it comes to building up sustainable farms sizes that could provide a reasonable standard of living, it claims.
Such developments can also adversely impact on the local environment, ecosystems and wildlife, the group claims.
The site, which it says is in a particularly scenic location, is close to two protected sites, or Special Areas of Conservation (SAC), Lough Gill and Boleybrack Mountain.
It claims a decision to allow the forestry development go ahead was appealed to the Forestry Appeal Committee which last May approved the development.
The group in its action says the committee erred in arriving at its decision in several respects.
It claims the screening and assessment of the site to see if the development would have any significant effects on the environment by the committee was neither appropriate nor in accordance with EU requirements.
The committee also failed to consider the characteristics of the proposed development, including its size, relationship with other developments, pollution and other nuisances, it claims.
In addition, the group says the development’s potential impacts on the existing population was not properly considered and that the committee failed to consider its submissions in that regard.
It claims a public notice in relation to the proposed forest development was neither visible nor legible from the public road, and failed to give adequate notice in respect of the development.
In its judicial review proceedings against the Forestry Appeal Committee, Ireland and the Attorney General, the group seeks an order quashing the committee’s decision.
The Save Leitrim Group also seeks several declarations including that committee has failed to comply with various EU directives including the habitats and screening directives.
It further seeks declarations that the State has failed to transpose various EU directives and regulations into domestic Irish laws including the Agriculture Appeals Act, the 2014 Forestry Act and the 2017 Forestry Regulations.
The action was briefly mentioned before the High Court last week, and was adjourned to a date in November.


theirishtimes--2020-08-11--Council closes Salthill diving tower over social distancing problems

Galway City Council has closed the landmark Blackrock diving tower at Salthill due to difficulties maintaining social distancing .
The @ @ @ @ @ amenity on Tuesday morning after large crowds gathered .
The tower closed during the lockdown @ @ @ @ @ following month as restrictions were eased but was quickly closed again due to problems with @ @ @ @ @ again in June , when the council put in place a one-way system in an @ @ @ @ @ rules were observed .
The change , taken because of the limited space on the @ @ @ @ @ that lead to the two dive points , meant anyone wanting to returning to shore @ @ @ @ @ wet first .
Large numbers of people have flocked to Salthill in the past week @ @ @ @ @ weather .

Galway City Council has closed the landmark Blackrock diving tower at Salthill due to difficulties maintaining social distancing.
The council says it closed the amenity on Tuesday morning after large crowds gathered.
The tower closed during the lockdown in April, re-opened the following month as restrictions were eased but was quickly closed again due to problems with social distancing.
It re-opened again in June, when the council put in place a one-way system in an effort to ensure social distancing rules were observed.
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The change, taken because of the limited space on the structure and the narrow steps that lead to the two dive points, meant anyone wanting to returning to shore had to dive and get wet first.
Large numbers of people have flocked to Salthill in the past week during the warm and sunny weather.


theirishtimes--2020-08-12--Remains of Co Derry man who went missing 29 years ago laid to rest

The sister-in-law of a man who went missing close to 29 years ago and whose body was found last month has spoken of the family ’ s relief that he could have a Christian burial .
On Monday a private family funeral was held in Magherafelt , Co Derry , for James Patterson , whose body was recovered from the River Bann last month .
The day after his interment the Police Service of Northern Ireland officially confirmed the man was Mr Patterson , from Motalee near Desertmartin in Co Derry , who went missing on October 6th , 1991 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wednesday it was a great relief for the family that they were “ no longer wondering ” what happened Mr Patterson who was 54 when he went missing .
He disappeared during the Troubles but police said his death was not suspicious .
Ms Patterson also said the family were equally convinced there was nothing untoward about his death .
Mr Patterson worked in the local council at the time he went missing , doing labouring work such as cutting hedges and tidying the roads .
“ He was a quiet man , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not involved in many activities ; he just stood around home mostly.
” Ms Patterson was married to Willie .
He died seven years ago not knowing what had happened his brother .
Mr Patterson had six siblings but all now are dead apart from a sister Iris , who lives in Scotland .
“ At least now we know where he is at , ” said Ms Patterson .
She remembered that the night before his death , a Saturday , he visited a friend in Mid-Ulster Hospital in Magherafelt .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and then he went away missing in the evening time , ” she recalled .
The family always had wondered what happened to him , she said , but the mystery never was resolved until last month when his Ford Orion was discovered by the local Community Search and Rescue team in the River Bann , near Bellaghy , in Co Derry .
Searches also were carried out in 1991 but nothing was found , remembered Ms Patterson .
He was a single man , who lived with his mother .
“ She @ @ @ @ @ @ @ went away , ” she said .
He was not a particularly good driver , she also recalled .
“ He could drive a car all right , but he did not go too far , just around the wee roads in the south Derry area , ” said Ms Patterson .
Local Ulster Unionist Party councillor Derek McKinney said he knew Mr Patterson and was a teenager when he went missing .
He was glad that the family now had “ closure ” .
He said the community would rally around the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ When you are waiting 29 years for an answer , you have had your grief long before now .
What the community can do is pray for the family , ” said Mr McKinney .
Mr Patterson ’ s funeral took place at the First Magherafelt Presbyterian Church which his mother and father also attended .
His funeral notice said that donations in his memory , if desired , should be made to the Community Rescue Services Central .

Emergency workers recover a Ford Orion car from the River Bann at the New Ferry Road in Bellaghy, Co Derry. Photograph: Liam McBurney/PA Wire
The sister-in-law of a man who went missing close to 29 years ago and whose body was found last month has spoken of the family’s relief that he could have a Christian burial.
On Monday a private family funeral was held in Magherafelt, Co Derry, for James Patterson, whose body was recovered from the River Bann last month.
The day after his interment, the Police Service of Northern Ireland officially confirmed the man was Mr Patterson, from Motalee near Desertmartin in Co Derry, who went missing on October 6th, 1991.
His sister-in-law, Mildred Patterson, said on Wednesday it was a great relief for the family that they were "no longer wondering" what happened to Mr Patterson, who was 54 when he went missing.
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He disappeared during the Troubles, but police said his death was not suspicious. Ms Patterson added the family was equally convinced there was nothing untoward about his death.
Mr Patterson had worked with the local council at the time he went missing, doing labouring work such as cutting hedges and tidying the roads.
“He was a quiet man,” she explained. “He was not involved in many activities; he just stood around home mostly.”
Died not knowing
Ms Patterson’s husband Willie died seven years ago not knowing what had happened to his brother.
Mr Patterson had six siblings but all now are dead apart from a sister, Iris, who lives in Scotland. "At least now we know where he is at," said Ms Patterson.
She remembered that the night before his death, a Saturday, he visited a friend in Mid-Ulster Hospital in Magherafelt.
“He went to church that Sunday morning and then he went away missing in the evening time,” she recalled.
The family had always wondered what happened, but the mystery remained unresolved until last month when his Ford Orion was discovered by the local Community Search and Rescue team in the River Bann, near Bellaghy, Co Derry.
Searches had also been carried out in 1991 but nothing was found, remembered Ms Patterson.
He was a single man, who had lived with his mother. “She passed away a few months before he went away,” she said.
He was not a particularly good driver, she recalled. “He could drive a car all right, but he did not go too far, just around the wee roads in the south Derry area.”
Local Ulster Unionist Party councillor Derek McKinney said he had known Mr Patterson and was a teenager when he went missing.
Family ‘closure’
He was glad the family now had “closure”. The community, he added, would rally around the family and offer support and comfort.
“When you are waiting 29 years for an answer, you have had your grief long before now. What the community can do is pray for the family,” said Mr McKinney.
Mr Patterson’s funeral took place at the First Magherafelt Presbyterian Church, which his mother and father also attended.
His funeral notice said donations in his memory, if desired, should be made to the Community Rescue Services Central.


theirishtimes--2020-08-12--Covid-19: New colour-coded alerts will work like traffic lights, Harris says

A proposed new colour-coded system of Covid-19 alerts would operate like traffic lights , Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris has said .
The National Public Health Emergency Team ( NPHET ) is progressing plans for a new long-term framework for how Ireland lives with Covid-19 , which will feature different colour coded levels of alert – red , orange , yellow and blue .
Under the proposals , a red alert means a full national lockdown , an orange alert means higher levels of infection and potential regional lockdowns , and yellow alerts will mean the risk is lower @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alert would show the disease has been suppressed .
“ What the Minister for Health is talking about now is trying to put in place a traffic light system where you would have different colours that would indicate how the country is doing today .
He will bring proposals to Cabinet in that regard , ” Mr Harris said .
However , Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has cautioned that the colour-coded system was still being worked on .
Asked about the new system on Wednesday , he said : “ We are now developing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ live with the virus for the next couple of months and respond to clusters and outbreaks as they can occur .
“ But at this stage it ’ s just [ NPHET ] and different Government departments and bodies that are putting into that .
There ’ s no draft document as yet and I ’ d prefer to have that agreed by Government before telling people what ’ s in it.
” Mr Harris also called for testing for the disease to be ramped up after his successor as Minister for Health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the system .
“ Firstly , we have built a massive testing capacity in this country .
We have spent an awful lot of money putting in place a really good testing infrastructure and the HSE has done an amazing job .
We need to use that testing infrastructure , we need to test , test , test , back to first principles , ” Mr Harris said .
“ I do note that we were testing in and around 8,000 to 9,000 people a day , and that number did fall over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 4,000 a day .
We need to ramp that back up .
We have that capacity .
Let ’ s use that capacity.
” Mr Donnelly said work was being done to make testing “ quicker and quicker ” .
He added that “ one or two issues ” had been identified where testing and tracing operations had been scaled back because “ we were down to 20 positive tests ” .
He acknowledged that clinical calls for those who had tested positive were not being processed “ as quickly as we ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a “ two to three day delay ” .
Mr Harris also said he was concerned so much time was spent debating the reopening of pubs , the existence of a green list and other issues at a time “ when we have to do more than one thing at a time.
” He also said “ an honest conversation ” needed to be had about what the future in Ireland looks like as we try to live alongside Covid-19 .

A proposed new colour-coded system of Covid-19 alerts would operate like traffic lights, Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris has said.
The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) is progressing plans for a new long-term framework for how Ireland lives with Covid-19, which will feature different colour coded levels of alert – red, orange, yellow and blue.
Under the proposals, a red alert means a full national lockdown, an orange alert means higher levels of infection and potential regional lockdowns, and yellow alerts will mean the risk is lower, sources have indicated. A blue alert would show the disease has been suppressed.
“What the Minister for Health is talking about now is trying to put in place a traffic light system where you would have different colours that would indicate how the country is doing today. He will bring proposals to Cabinet in that regard,” Mr Harris said.
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However, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has cautioned that the colour-coded system was still being worked on.
Asked about the new system on Wednesday, he said: “We are now developing a new plan by which we can live with the virus for the next couple of months and respond to clusters and outbreaks as they can occur.
“But at this stage it’s just [ Nphet] and different Government departments and bodies that are putting into that. There’s no draft document as yet and I’d prefer to have that agreed by Government before telling people what’s in it.”
He said the aim at present is to flatten the curve and “reduce the virus to such a low level that we don’t see millions of people getting infected and we don’t get into a situation whereby our health services and our hospitals and our ICUs are overwhelmed, as we have seen happening in some countries.”
He added: “Really the strategy is to slow and minimise the virus to get as close to zero as we can in terms of cases but recognising that that is not possible ... minimise the number of infections, minimise the risk of our health service being overwhelmed which we’ve done successfully until such a time until we develop either herd immunity, which would take an extremely long time, if we continue like this, but more likely development of a vaccine which can provide a degree of herd immunity or an effective treatment of the virus itself, and nobody can predict for sure how long that’s going to take.”
Mr Harris also called for testing for the disease to be ramped up after his successor as Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly was forced to defend the system.
“Firstly, we have built a massive testing capacity in this country. We have spent an awful lot of money putting in place a really good testing infrastructure and the HSE has done an amazing job. We need to use that testing infrastructure, we need to test, test, test, back to first principles,” Mr Harris said.
“I do note that we were testing in and around 8,000 to 9,000 people a day ,and that number did fall over the last while to around 3,000 to 4,000 a day. We need to ramp that back up. We have that capacity. Let’s use that capacity.”
Mr Donnelly said work was being done to make testing “quicker and quicker”. He added that “one or two issues” had been identified where testing and tracing operations had been scaled back because “we were down to 20 positive tests”.
He acknowledged that clinical calls for those who had tested positive were not being processed “as quickly as we’d like” and there had been a “two to three day delay”.
Mr Harris also said he was concerned so much time was spent debating the reopening of pubs, the existence of a green list and other issues at a time “when we have to do more than one thing at a time.” He also said “an honest conversation” needed to be had about what the future in Ireland looks like as we try to live alongside Covid-19.


theirishtimes--2020-08-12--Aaron Brady, the man who said with pride he was a cop killer

Propped on a stool drinking cider at the bar of the Coachman ’ s Inn on New York ’ s Katonah Avenue in the Bronx in 2014 , Aaron Brady thought back to the night a year before when he had killed Det Garda Adrian Donohoe .
Under the red , white and blue of the American flag , and to the tune of Irish rebel songs , he longed to share his drunken self-pity .
The only available ear belonged to bartender Daniel Cahill .
As evening turned to darkness and the drinking continued into the small hours , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He could never go home .
“ You wouldn ’ t know what it ’ s like to do the things I ’ ve done , ” he told the barman .
It was not the first time Cahill had heard similar words from Brady .
Previously , during another intoxicated evening , Brady had been punched in a bar brawl , suffering a large gash over his eye .
He ran to the bathroom , a trail of blood following him .
In the cramped single toilet cubicle , Brady went from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from his face and hands .
Staring into the mirror he said , over and over , “ I ’ m going to kill him , I ’ m going to shoot him.
” He had shot a garda before and he would shoot the man who punched him .
It was a stupid thing to mess with Aaron Brady , he boasted .
Brady was known among the Irish community in Woodlawn in New York and throughout the Irish bars lining Katonah Avenue as “ the guy who shot the garda ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had heard him say it , but chose not to testify .
Some spoke of being “ terrified ” .
Much of the information gathered by gardaí was kept from Brady due to a fear of a threat to the lives of the people who had given it .
That decision was upheld by the trial judge , Mr Justice Michael White .
Brady wore the moniker of “ cop killer ” with pride , it made him feel like a real gangster .
“ The biggest gangster in Ireland ” , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” , as he boasted in front of flatmates and Molly Staunton , the girlfriend of one of them , on one drunken evening .
Brady not only failed to keep his crime a secret while he was in America , he sought people out to tell them .
At parties , in bars , at weddings he boasted out loud that he was the man who had killed the garda .
Cahill was driving home one evening when Brady flagged him down to show him a newspaper article with a headline calling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saying he was “ living it up ” in New York .
The bartender was not interested .
He was not Brady ’ s friend .
But Brady had sought him out , longing for the notoriety .
Cahill comes from Dublin 13 , growing up a few doors from the infamous brothers , Vincent and Alan Ryan , of the Dublin Real IRA .
Both of the Ryan brothers were murdered in separate shootings .
Cahill counted among his former friends Dean Evans , who is serving a life sentence for murdering @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Inn in Gormanston , Co Meath , in 2013 .
But Cahill was not sympathetic to what Brady had done and in July 2019 , when US Homeland Security officials knocked on his door , he agreed to give a statement to gardaí using Brady ’ s own words to incriminate him .
It was a breakthrough for investigators .
Brady ’ s story begins earlier , and elsewhere .
He is a native of staunchly republican south Armagh .
A decent Gaelic footballer , he played for Crossmaglen Rangers .
His father @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the team and a former club chairman .
The “ atmosphere ” of south Armagh was mentioned repeatedly during the trial , with gardaí admitting that people along the Border are slow to talk .
People can be killed for doing so , Det Insp Martin Beggy said during the trial .
Brady met Suspect A at school , and they became best friends .
Suspect A ’ s family owns a business in Boston , which Suspect A now runs .
As a young man Brady did odd jobs here and there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ having left school aged 16 , but did not finish the course .
He claimed to have worked as an advertising salesman with his father .
Some time in 2012 he got involved with local fuel launderers and his associates were known to carry out “ creeper burglaries ” whereby they would steal car keys from people ’ s homes and make off with vehicles .
One of his friends , known as Suspect B , is suspected of involvement in a robbery of the Lordship Credit Union in August 2011 which netted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Det Garda Donohoe was subsequently killed .
The same man is a suspect for a robbery in 2011 at Dundalk Race Course .
He is currently before the courts regarding other charges .
The simple success of the 2011 Lordship robbery prompted Brady and the others to do it again .
By 2013 , Brady was well known to Dundalk gardaí , particularly after he pleaded guilty before the Circuit Criminal Court to ramming three taxis and a Garda van while driving a stolen car there on October 2nd , 2011 .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up alongside Insp John Moroney , a sergeant at the time .
Brady stuck his middle finger up at the sergeant before speeding off around the town centre .
Among the many lies Brady told was a claim that the Garda van had rammed him .
He lied , too , about Moroney , telling the jury that the inspector had lied to a judge during a previous case and been rebuked .
He was forced to retract that claim when the prosecution read back a transcript which showed clearly that the inspector @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been rebuked .
In September 2012 , Brady met Jessica King .
He was so in love that he tattooed the date of their first meeting on his back .
Text messages between them in the run-up to the robbery were pored over in court , since they were important to both prosecution and defence .
Defence counsel Michael O ’ Higgins argued that they showed that Brady was not “ an uncaring psychopath ” , pointing to his regular professions of love for King and his pleas to her after they had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the raid .
She had gone out with friends to Ridley ’ s nightclub in Dundalk and when Suspect A and Brady picked them up , she was wearing another man ’ s baseball cap .
Overwhelmed with jealousy , Brady stormed off .
He spent much of the day after apologising by text .
She knew he was involved in fuel-laundering , but would have nothing to do with him if he was involved in more serious crime .
One night , she told the court , a friend of Brady ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nightclub that Brady had stolen a car .
She was upset and demanded an explanation .
Brady denied it , saying Suspect A had stolen it .
In court , Brady denied that , saying that he would never have said that Suspect A stole cars .
“ He has owned his own house since he was 18 years old and is working in America making a six-figure sum .
[ Suspect A ] is a wealthy man .
What would he be doing robbing cars or getting involved in armed robberies ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ no reason to lie and her memory was clear .
From text exchanges with King , it was apparent that Brady was helping her to buy a car and that he had told her he would have the money by the weekend .
This , the prosecution said , showed expected money from a successful Lordship raid .
Brady , however , told the jury that the diesel-laundering yard had been busy and that he would get €300 for a couple of hours loading cubes of diesel waste .
Brady ’ s texts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alibi .
He told her at least twice on the night of the killing that he had work from about 8pm and it would take him 90 minutes to two hours , asking for permission to call over once he was finished .
By “ work ” , King said she understood he meant fuel-laundering .
The prosecution argued the texts sent by Brady were a “ ruse ” to fool his girlfriend because Brady knew she would break up with him if he was involved in armed robbery .
Despite Brady ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ money , the prosecution insisted that he needed cash and that he had decided to get it by helping to rob the credit union ’ s Friday night takings .
Three nights before the robbery the gang stole a Volkswagen Passat in Clogherhead , Co Louth , from outside a house , after cutting out the barrel of the lock on the front door of the house and stealing the car keys .
The car ’ s owner woke to find his front door open .
Four days before the robbery , Suspect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ called gardaí to Suspect A ’ s parents ’ house , which is less than 2km from Lordship , saying intruders had been spotted .
Gardaí searched , but found no evidence of intruders and no sign of footprints on the wet grass .
It was , the prosecution argued , a ruse to check how long it took gardaí to respond to calls in rural north Co Louth .
The prosecution also claimed that Suspect A ’ s car drove past Lordship Credit Union hours before the raid with the passenger side-window @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scoping ” exercise .
By the evening of January 25th , 2013 the robbers were ready .
At about 8.48pm , four men were seen on CCTV getting out of the stolen Passat behind Lordship Credit Union , spending 40 minutes in a laneway on a freezing , stormy January night .
Gardaí believed they had sheltered in a nearby shed , but no useful forensics were found .
Mobile phones were switched off to avoid being traced .
Walkie-talkies were used to communicate with one another and the driver of the Passat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his colleague , Det Garda Joe Ryan , as usual on Friday nights , accompanied workers from four rural credit unions from Omeath , Carlingford , Cooley and Lordship on Louth ’ s Cooley peninsula .
Friday was the credit unions ’ busiest day .
In the 2011 raid , the robbers took €22,500 from an employee sitting in his car waiting for the Garda escort .
Since then , employees stayed in the credit union until the escort arrived .
Garda Tony Golden , who would be shot dead two years later @ @ @ @ @ @ @ part of the Garda escort until they got to Cooley .
There , detectives Donohoe and Ryan took over .
Armed with Sig Sauer service pistols , the gardaí headed towards Lordship with one credit union car ahead of them containing €17,000 .
They arrived at Lordship at about 9.25pm .
There , credit union official Pat Bellow emerged with the day ’ s €7,000 takings .
Bellew got into his gold-coloured Mazda , preparing to join the other credit union car and the Garda escort , driven by Ryan .
However , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Four men dressed in black and balaclavas jumped over the wall .
Two were armed .
Brady had a shotgun , another man was armed with a handgun .
The gunmen went directly for the Garda car while the others , armed with a hammer , went for what they thought were the cars carrying the money .
As the raiders approached , Det Garda Donohoe jumped out of the passenger seat of the Garda car .
He was shot in the face with a single shotgun round from 6ft away , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He died instantly .
CCTV showed the moment the gun was fired , with the gunman almost falling to the ground because of the weapon ’ s recoil .
The gunmen then turned their attentions to Det Garda Ryan : “ We will f***ing kill you , don ’ t move , I will shoot you , ” screamed one .
The other raiders took the €7,000 off Bellew , but they did not target the car containing the €17,000 from the other credit unions .
Instead , they went to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ McShane .
She broke down as she gave evidence last February .
Having seen the garda being shot , she said : “ At that stage , when I saw the man running towards me , I thought he was coming to kill me because I had seen too much.
” The entire incident lasted 58 seconds .
By 9.30pm they were gone .
Det Garda Ryan had been unable to clearly identify the raiders , thinking one was 6ft 1in tall , whereas Brady is 5ft 7in .
They had Border accents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ walkie-talkie , at least .
A number of people saw the Passat and at least two other cars driving off at speed towards the Border minutes after the robbery .
But in the immediate aftermath investigators had little to go on .
Told by Det Garda Ryan that the raiders had Border accents , Det Insp Pat Marry ( now retired ) asked for a list of locals who might be involved .
Suspect B , a suspect for the 2011 Lordship robbery , was quickly on it .
So , gardaí looked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ At around 1pm the day after the robbery , Insp John Moroney , who was then a sergeant , was leading a search of roadside from Lordship when he spotted Aaron Brady in the passenger seat of his best friend ’ s distinctive BMW .
Moroney knew Brady from the Dundalk car-ramming case two years before .
He separated Brady from the driver and asked both to account for their movements the previous night .
Sitting on a barrier , Brady calmly lied , saying he had gone to his girlfriend ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ until 3am , including things he had done the Thursday before and other things that he just made up .
He also gave a fake phone number .
Suspect A gave a conflicting account .
The inspector was suspicious , noting that Brady had told him that he did not hear about the shooting until that morning , which was strange since Brady was staying at Suspect A ’ s house - just 2km from Lordship , so close that it was inside the Garda cordon .
Brady would make much of this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ insisting that it was “ ridiculous ” to suggest that he had said he did not know what had happened until that morning .
He said Moroney was either mistaken or acting out of “ malice ” .
Within an hour of Brady giving that first false account , Police Service of Northern Ireland officers had called to King ’ s house .
She lied to protect Brady because she thought he had been laundering diesel .
She would later correct her statement and say that Brady arrived at her house after 11pm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he was picked up by Suspect A .
A day after the robbery , wildlife ranger Donald Whiteside came across a still-smouldering car on Cumson ’ s Road in south Armagh , a laneway off a country road in quiet farmland .
Finding burned-out cars is not uncommon , so he waited until Monday to report it .
Once he did , PSNI gathered forensics from the ashes and debris , and collected litter from the surrounding ground .
Although nothing was found of forensic value , the car chassis number had survived @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it as the Passat stolen outside Clogherhead in the early hours of January 23rd .
In the days afterwards , Brady acted normally .
He was seen on CCTV at a local bookies on the Saturday , meeting up with friends .
On Sunday he went to the cinema with Jessica King , Suspect A and Suspect A ’ s girlfriend .
Brady was being linked to the murder on social media .
Worried , his father , Tony Brady arranged for his son to go to a garda station to give a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ solicitor Daniel McNamee , who advised Brady not to do so if he had had anything to do with it .
However , Brady went on February 5th , 10 days after the killing .
Brady spoke to Insp Mark Phillips and Det Garda Jim McGovern of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation .
However , when it came to the crucial hours after 8pm , his solicitor asked for a private consultation because he realised Brady was not telling gardaí the same story he had told him .
Following this , McNamee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ involved in laundering diesel that night and wanted to know if it was all right for him to talk about this .
The gardaí told him they were only interested in Det Garda Donohoe and agreed to take an “ off the record ” statement about Brady ’ s involvement in diesel laundering .
Brady told them that he arrived at the Concession Road yard around 8pm to load diesel waste .
He had spent about 15 minutes trying to start a forklift , but gave up when it would not start and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on nearby Lough Road .
This would become one of the most controversial aspects of the case .
More than six years later , shortly before the trial , Brady ’ s lawyers sent a new alibi - saying that he had been in the Concession Road yard throughout the time of the robbery and shooting .
Brady later elaborated in a written note sent to the DPP in which he said he lied to gardaí in his 2013 voluntary statement because he did not want to implicate himself in diesel laundering .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ claimed , been able to start the forklift and spent 90 minutes loading waste before travelling to Lough Road , and then onto his girlfriend ’ s house .
That would have put him at Concession Road until after 9.30pm , the time of the robbery .
Explaining the late alibi , defence counsel Michael O ’ Higgins said they had waited for disclosure , saying it would be “ hideous ” to expect a lawyer to advise their client to submit an alibi before seeing the prosecution ’ s evidence .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his alibi around what he knew from prosecution disclosure .
In one of the biggest Garda investigations in the State , CCTV footage from 380 locations all over Louth and south Armagh was examined , while thousands of pages of reports were produced for , and by detectives .
One piece of CCTV footage , which was not very clear , from a house near Suspect A ’ s parents ’ home showed a car leaving Suspect A ’ s house around midnight on the night the Passat was stolen .
Within minutes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nearby service station in his distinctive BMW , with its alloy wheels and vinyl-wrapped roof .
Suspect A and his brother bought petrol and Lucozade and drove off .
There was at least one other person in the car .
Phone records proved that man was Brady , said the prosecution .
A similar car was identified later that night in Clogherhead , trying , gardaí believed , to identify a car that could be stolen for the raid .
Two cars consistent with Suspect A ’ s BMW and the stolen Passat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ towards Dundalk on back roads , rather than the M1 .
A car arrived back at Suspect A ’ s house at 5am .
The Passat was safely hidden away .
In the witness box , Brady said he could not remember where he stayed the night the car was stolen .
However , it was apparent from mobile phone evidence and photos found on Jessica King ’ s phone that Brady had not left Suspect A ’ s side throughout that period .
Among the circumstantial evidence put forward by the prosecution @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Brady , and phones belonging to Suspect A and Suspect B , were active until about one hour before the robbery .
Then they went silent for two hours .
Suspect B ’ s phone also appeared to be frantically trying to contact Brady minutes before the phones went dead , suggesting Suspect B was anxious to find Brady at , or near the rendezvous point in Lordship .
Witness Douglas Hughes linked Brady indirectly to where the Passat was burned .
Six months before the Lordship raid , he was woken @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the corner of Chaleybeate Road and Cortamlat Road in Co Armagh .
Hughes jumped out of bed and drove up the road because he knew by the sound of the van “ straining ” to get up the hill and the hour of the morning that it was probably fuel launderers ’ dumping waste .
On Cumson ’ s Road , he saw a white Transit van and two men dumping the cubes .
When they saw him they drove off .
After giving chase , he reported the van ’ s registration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pictured at the fuel-laundering yard , and Brady admitted to having driven it .
Farmer Alan McBride bolstered the suggestion that Suspect A ’ s car was used in the robbery when he said he saw a dark-coloured Volkswagen followed by a BMW 5-Series driving at high speed past his farm shed on Chaleybeate Road within 30 minutes of the robbery .
Twenty minutes later the BMW returned on its own .
Having given voluntary statements in February 2013 , Brady told gardaí that he would be ready to talk again .
Instead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and flew from Belfast to Newark , New Jersey , on April 13th , 2013 under the 90-day visa waiver programme .
There , he was picked up at the airport by Suspect A and travelled to Boston to work for his friend ’ s firm .
However , he was still trying to maintain his relationship with Jessica King , who moved to New York in 2014 .
Around Valentine ’ s Day that year , instead of taking care of his friend ’ s business , Brady drove to New York @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out with Suspect A as a result .
During his evidence , he said they have not spoken since .
Brady said he had had a great life in New York .
His relationship with King ended , but he said he was making $ 65/hour working on building sites and got time-and-a-half for working more than 40 hours weekly .
In late 2015 , Brady met Danielle Healy , an American citizen , and quickly began a relationship .
She became pregnant within weeks of their first meeting and they decided to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ married .
However , Brady soon realised that Insp Mark Phillips and Det Garda Jim McGovern were working with US Homeland Security in New York to find anyone who might have heard him admit to the Donohoe killing .
Six people gave statements , but the only two who actually gave evidence in court were Staunton and Cahill .
It was their evidence that identified Brady not just as one of the robbers , but as the killer .
Staunton told the trial that she started a relationship with one of Brady ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of that year she was in their apartment when Brady emerged from his bedroom and went on what she called a “ huge rant ” .
He was distressed , saying he wanted to be a good father and worried that he would not be able to care for his soon-to-be-born son .
She said he said that he had “ had to carry around the guilt of having murdered a cop in Ireland ” and that he “ was the most feared man in Ireland ” .
Staunton was described as unreliable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cross-examination , she agreed with defence counsel Fiona Murphy that Brady had not confessed to shooting anyone , but had been upset because he was being linked to the murder .
When the prosecution showed her video footage of her own statement to gardaí she reverted to her original position .
Staunton gave her testimony from her home in New York because Covid-19 restrictions meant that no public buildings were available .
While she was giving her evidence she was twice interrupted by a man who told her to “ tell them what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” .
During the second interruption , which happened in front of the jury , he told her “ no more testimony ” and the video link went dead .
Brady ’ s lawyers asked for the jury to be discharged following the interruption and the suggestion that she may have been interfered with while giving evidence is likely to be a grounds for appeal .
Brady ’ s defence lawyers attacked Cahill ’ s credibility .
They suggested – solely on the basis that he had known the now-dead Ryan brothers – @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the “ Ryan Crew ” or Dublin Real IRA before leaving Ireland in 2013 .
Cahill strongly denied this .
The trial judge later said it was an “ outrageous ” suggestion that should never have been put to the witness by barrister Justin McQuade , who apologised , said he had overstepped the mark , and moved on .
McQuade later accused Cahill of breaking into Brady ’ s New York apartment and threatening to cut off Brady ’ s toes with a Stanley knife .
Cahill strongly denied any involvement in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the trial , during lengthy legal argument and in front of the jury , the defence argued that Cahill may have given testimony so that the Department of Homeland Security would allow him to remain in America , even though he was there illegally .
Part of the basis for the defence ’ s claim was a conversation between Suspect A and special agent Matt Katske of Homeland Security at Belfast Airport on June 6th , 2017 , which had been secretly recorded by Suspect A or his girlfriend .
In it , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about Suspect A ’ s brother , saying : “ He ’ s being removed , he ’ s going home .
I can find plenty wrong with his paperwork .
If he puts Aaron Brady away , you will probably never hear from me again ...
I can ’ t do anything for him until he commits to doing something for us in this case.
” The defence argued that the jury should hear the recording so they could consider whether something similar had been said to Cahill before he made his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he had been detained by Homeland Security .
The trial judge refused , ruling that it had been dealt with by the denials of Daniel Cahill and special agent Mary Ann Wade of Homeland Security who told the jury that she made no promises or offers to Cahill .
During legal argument , it emerged that an associate of Brady ’ s had contacted Cahill to ask if he had spoken to gardaí before the prosecution even disclosed to the defence that he had given a statement .
Brendan Grehan for the prosecution @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ boots on the ground ” in New York and one man in particular was suspected of relaying information from the US back to Brady .
Numerous witnesses had been contacted , said Grehan .
On June 24th , on the second day of Cahill ’ s cross-examination , Grehan said he had become aware of “ very serious attempts ” to intimidate Cahill .
However , the witness remained firm , insisting he had heard Brady confess three times .
When Brady got in the box he described Cahill as a “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Grehan attempted to throw back at Brady , suggesting that he was the one who lacks morality , shows no remorse or empathy , and constantly seeks to blame others .
Cahill was not the only person subjected to intimidation .
In what Mr Justice White described as “ the most outrageous contempt of court ” he had ever seen , a video of one witness statement to gardaí was circulated on WhatsApp , Facebook and Youtube .
It was accompanied with text accusing him of “ touting ” or calling him a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had criminal charges against him dropped as payment .
This witness , and his family in Ireland had been subjected to “ widespread intimidation ” , said Grehan .
In his statement , this man said he heard Brady admit to shooting Det Garda Donohoe .
He lives in New York where , due to the extent of the pandemic lockdown , it was not possible for him to be subpoenaed to give evidence .
Another man , who also lives in New York , told gardaí that he heard Brady “ boasting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what it was like to kill someone .
When Brady realised he was there , the man alleged Brady took him outside , assaulted him and warned him to keep his mouth shut .
The man was left with a scar over his eye which was photographed by gardaí .
Some months into the trial a solicitor on behalf of this man contacted Insp Mark Phillips of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and told him that he would not return to Ireland to give evidence because of outstanding criminal matters in Northern @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could be given by a New York videolink , the man ’ s lawyer refused , saying his client had been under “ immense duress ” when he had spoken previously and would not “ voluntarily testify ” .
Another witness said his recorded statement to gardaí was not accurate .
Two witnesses in Northern Ireland did not come forward despite arrest warrants .
One had given , but retracted an alibi for Brady .
The other had heard Brady admit to the killing .
Besides the incident following the bar brawl and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over several hours and admitted to killing a garda in a “ robbery gone wrong ” , there was a third admission by Brady witnessed by Cahill .
It was some time in 2015 when customers at the Coachman ’ s invited Cahill to a party .
When he arrived , Brady and three other men were “ trying to outdo each other ” in a “ pissing contest ” about which of them was the toughest , the barman remembered .
Brady had claimed that he was the only one “ who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that “ everyone around knows who he is and what he had done and the crimes he had committed and this was why nobody wants to get on the wrong side of him.
” Brady , said Cahill , had boasted that it “ takes a certain type of person to manage these feelings well ” .
In his closing speech , prosecuting counsel Staines said such exchanges showed that Brady had worn the killing “ like a badge of honour ” .
Staines described Brady as a “ skilled and practised liar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of lies ” and used the killing to “ intimidate and curry influence ” in New York , “ sometimes crying , lamenting in drink or bragging with his chest puffed out ” .
Brady had been confident that nobody would talk .
“ He was wrong about that .
Not all the people he talked to about this were willing to turn the other way .
Two came to give evidence.
” Each piece of circumstantial evidence against Brady could be a coincidence , Staines told the jury , but “ when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” there “ comes a point that it is an affront to common sense that all these little things are coincidence ” .
For the defence , O ’ Higgins told the jury that Cahill ’ s evidence was “ shrouded in mystery ” and that he may have been subjected to threats or inducement by Homeland Security .
Counsel asked the jury to consider why , five years after Cahill first claimed to have heard Brady confess , he “ falls out of the sky with this evidence ” on July 25th @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to gardaí .
The catalyst for Cahill coming forward was , he said , “ an early morning knock on the door ” by Homeland Security officers , which had led Cahill to run naked into the attic , where he stayed for hours .
Steroids and a suspected cannabis plant were found in the apartment , but no charges were brought even though Cahill had overstayed his visa .
Immigration lawyer Kerry Bretz said he had never seen that happen during a 30-year career .
O ’ Higgins insisted there was evidence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Concession Road yard at the time of the murder and gardaí had ignored evidence supporting that .
The prosecution had come to court with a sculpted case that editorialised the evidence .
Ultimately it was up to the jury to decide .
They were faced with many choices .
They could find Brady guilty of capital murder , guilty of ordinary murder , guilty of manslaughter or not guilty .
They also had to decide whether he was guilty in relation to the robbery at Lordship .
They found , by a majority @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prosecution had proven beyond reasonable doubt that Brady was guilty of the capital murder of Det Garda Donohoe , a crime that carries with it a mandatory sentence of 40 years ’ imprisonment .

Propped on a stool drinking cider at the bar of the Coachman's Inn on New York's Katonah Avenue in the Bronx in 2014, Aaron Brady thought back to the night a year before when he had killed Det Garda Adrian Donohoe.
Under the red, white and blue of the American flag, and to the tune of Irish rebel songs, he longed to share his drunken self-pity. The only available ear belonged to bartender Daniel Cahill.
“Have you ever killed anyone?” Brady asked Cahill.
As evening turned to darkness and the drinking continued into the small hours, Brady shared more of his sorrow. He could never go home. “You wouldn’t know what it’s like to do the things I’ve done,” he told the barman.
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29-year-old Aaron Brady from Crossmaglen has been found guilty of the capital murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe at Lordship Credit Union, Bellurgan, Co Louth on January 25th, 2013. Video: Conor Lally
It was not the first time Cahill had heard similar words from Brady. Previously, during another intoxicated evening, Brady had been punched in a bar brawl, suffering a large gash over his eye.
He ran to the bathroom, a trail of blood following him. In the cramped single toilet cubicle, Brady went from crying to fuming as he washed blood from his face and hands.
Staring into the mirror he said, over and over, “I’m going to kill him, I’m going to shoot him.”
He had shot a garda before and he would shoot the man who punched him. It was a stupid thing to mess with Aaron Brady, he boasted.
Irish community
Brady was known among the Irish community in Woodlawn in New York and throughout the Irish bars lining Katonah Avenue as “the guy who shot the garda”. It was no secret. Others had heard him say it, but chose not to testify.
Some spoke of being “terrified”. Much of the information gathered by gardaí was kept from Brady due to a fear of a threat to the lives of the people who had given it. That decision was upheld by the trial judge, Mr Justice Michael White.
Brady wore the moniker of "cop killer" with pride, it made him feel like a real gangster. "The biggest gangster in Ireland", and "the most feared man in Ireland", as he boasted in front of flatmates and Molly Staunton, the girlfriend of one of them, on one drunken evening.
Brady not only failed to keep his crime a secret while he was in America, he sought people out to tell them. At parties, in bars, at weddings he boasted out loud that he was the man who had killed the garda.
Cahill was driving home one evening when Brady flagged him down to show him a newspaper article with a headline calling him a “garda killer” and saying he was “living it up” in New York.
The bartender was not interested. He was not Brady’s friend. But Brady had sought him out, longing for the notoriety. Cahill comes from Dublin 13, growing up a few doors from the infamous brothers, Vincent and Alan Ryan, of the Dublin Real IRA.
The Coachman’s Inn on New York’s Katonah Avenue, which has changed hands since and is now known as Keane’s.
Both of the Ryan brothers were murdered in separate shootings. Cahill counted among his former friends Dean Evans, who is serving a life sentence for murdering dissident republican Peter Butterly outside the Huntsman Inn in Gormanston, Co Meath, in 2013.
But Cahill was not sympathetic to what Brady had done and in July 2019, when US Homeland Security officials knocked on his door, he agreed to give a statement to gardaí using Brady’s own words to incriminate him. It was a breakthrough for investigators.
Crossmaglen
Brady's story begins earlier, and elsewhere. He is a native of staunchly republican south Armagh. A decent Gaelic footballer, he played for Crossmaglen Rangers. His father, Tony, is a physiotherapist for the team and a former club chairman.
The “atmosphere” of south Armagh was mentioned repeatedly during the trial, with gardaí admitting that people along the Border are slow to talk. People can be killed for doing so, Det Insp Martin Beggy said during the trial.
Brady met Suspect A at school, and they became best friends. Suspect A's family owns a business in Boston, which Suspect A now runs.
As a young man Brady did odd jobs here and there. He started as an apprentice electrician having left school aged 16, but did not finish the course. He claimed to have worked as an advertising salesman with his father.
Some time in 2012 he got involved with local fuel launderers and his associates were known to carry out “creeper burglaries” whereby they would steal car keys from people’s homes and make off with vehicles.
One of his friends, known as Suspect B, is suspected of involvement in a robbery of the Lordship Credit Union in August 2011 which netted €22,500 – the same credit union where Det Garda Donohoe was subsequently killed.
The same man is a suspect for a robbery in 2011 at Dundalk Race Course. He is currently before the courts regarding other charges. The simple success of the 2011 Lordship robbery prompted Brady and the others to do it again.
By 2013, Brady was well known to Dundalk gardaí, particularly after he pleaded guilty before the Circuit Criminal Court to ramming three taxis and a Garda van while driving a stolen car there on October 2nd, 2011.
It was shortly after 4am when Brady pulled up alongside Insp John Moroney, a sergeant at the time. Brady stuck his middle finger up at the sergeant before speeding off around the town centre.
Among the many lies Brady told was a claim that the Garda van had rammed him. He lied, too, about Moroney, telling the jury that the inspector had lied to a judge during a previous case and been rebuked.
He was forced to retract that claim when the prosecution read back a transcript which showed clearly that the inspector had not lied, nor had he been rebuked.
Jessica King
In September 2012, Brady met Jessica King. He was so in love that he tattooed the date of their first meeting on his back. Text messages between them in the run-up to the robbery were pored over in court, since they were important to both prosecution and defence.
Defence counsel Michael O’Higgins argued that they showed that Brady was not “an uncaring psychopath”, pointing to his regular professions of love for King and his pleas to her after they had a row on the Thursday night before the raid.
She had gone out with friends to Ridley’s nightclub in Dundalk and when Suspect A and Brady picked them up, she was wearing another man’s baseball cap. Overwhelmed with jealousy, Brady stormed off. He spent much of the day after apologising by text.
She knew he was involved in fuel-laundering, but would have nothing to do with him if he was involved in more serious crime. One night, she told the court, a friend of Brady’s had told her in a Dundalk nightclub that Brady had stolen a car.
She was upset and demanded an explanation. Brady denied it, saying Suspect A had stolen it. In court, Brady denied that, saying that he would never have said that Suspect A stole cars.
“He has owned his own house since he was 18 years old and is working in America making a six-figure sum. [Suspect A] is a wealthy man. What would he be doing robbing cars or getting involved in armed robberies?” Brady said.
But King had no reason to lie and her memory was clear. From text exchanges with King, it was apparent that Brady was helping her to buy a car and that he had told her he would have the money by the weekend.
This, the prosecution said, showed expected money from a successful Lordship raid. Brady, however, told the jury that the diesel-laundering yard had been busy and that he would get €300 for a couple of hours loading cubes of diesel waste.
Brady’s texts with King also provided part of his alibi. He told her at least twice on the night of the killing that he had work from about 8pm and it would take him 90 minutes to two hours, asking for permission to call over once he was finished.
By “work”, King said she understood he meant fuel-laundering. The prosecution argued the texts sent by Brady were a “ruse” to fool his girlfriend because Brady knew she would break up with him if he was involved in armed robbery.
Despite Brady’s claims that he could earn easy money, the prosecution insisted that he needed cash and that he had decided to get it by helping to rob the credit union’s Friday night takings .
Three nights before the robbery the gang stole a Volkswagen Passat in Clogherhead, Co Louth, from outside a house, after cutting out the barrel of the lock on the front door of the house and stealing the car keys. The car's owner woke to find his front door open.
Response times
Four days before the robbery, Suspect A and Suspect A’s brother called gardaí to Suspect A’s parents’ house, which is less than 2km from Lordship, saying intruders had been spotted.
Gardaí searched, but found no evidence of intruders and no sign of footprints on the wet grass. It was, the prosecution argued, a ruse to check how long it took gardaí to respond to calls in rural north Co Louth.
The prosecution also claimed that Suspect A’s car drove past Lordship Credit Union hours before the raid with the passenger side-window down in what they dubbed a “scoping” exercise.
By the evening of January 25th, 2013 the robbers were ready. At about 8.48pm, four men were seen on CCTV getting out of the stolen Passat behind Lordship Credit Union, spending 40 minutes in a laneway on a freezing, stormy January night.
Gardaí believed they had sheltered in a nearby shed, but no useful forensics were found. Mobile phones were switched off to avoid being traced. Walkie-talkies were used to communicate with one another and the driver of the Passat.
Meanwhile, Det Garda Donohoe and his colleague, Det Garda Joe Ryan, as usual on Friday nights, accompanied workers from four rural credit unions from Omeath, Carlingford, Cooley and Lordship on Louth's Cooley peninsula.
Friday was the credit unions’ busiest day. In the 2011 raid, the robbers took €22,500 from an employee sitting in his car waiting for the Garda escort. Since then, employees stayed in the credit union until the escort arrived.
Garda Tony Golden, who would be shot dead two years later in the line of duty, was part of the Garda escort until they got to Cooley. There, detectives Donohoe and Ryan took over.
Armed with Sig Sauer service pistols, the gardaí headed towards Lordship with one credit union car ahead of them containing €17,000. They arrived at Lordship at about 9.25pm. There, credit union official Pat Bellew emerged with the day's €7,000 takings.
Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe. Photograph: Garda/PA Wire
Bellew got into his gold-coloured Mazda, preparing to join the other credit union car and the Garda escort, driven by Ryan. However, they were blocked by the stolen Passat. Four men dressed in black and balaclavas jumped over the wall. Two were armed.
Brady had a shotgun, another man was armed with a handgun. The gunmen went directly for the Garda car while the others, armed with a hammer, went for what they thought were the cars carrying the money.
As the raiders approached, Det Garda Donohoe jumped out of the passenger seat of the Garda car. He was shot in the face with a single shotgun round from 6ft away, before he had even drawn his weapon. He died instantly.
CCTV showed the moment the gun was fired, with the gunman almost falling to the ground because of the weapon’s recoil. The gunmen then turned their attentions to Det Garda Ryan: “We will f***ing kill you, don’t move, I will shoot you,” screamed one.
The other raiders took the €7,000 off Bellew, but they did not target the car containing the €17,000 from the other credit unions. Instead, they went to a fourth car belonging to Lordship volunteer Bernadette McShane.
She broke down as she gave evidence last February. Having seen the garda being shot, she said: “At that stage, when I saw the man running towards me, I thought he was coming to kill me because I had seen too much.”
The entire incident lasted 58 seconds. By 9.30pm they were gone. Det Garda Ryan had been unable to clearly identify the raiders, thinking one was 6ft 1in tall, whereas Brady is 5ft 7in. They had Border accents, he said. One had a walkie-talkie, at least.
A number of people saw the Passat and at least two other cars driving off at speed towards the Border minutes after the robbery. But in the immediate aftermath investigators had little to go on.
Usual suspects
Told by Det Garda Ryan that the raiders had Border accents, Det Insp Pat Marry (now retired) asked for a list of locals who might be involved. Suspect B, a suspect for the 2011 Lordship robbery, was quickly on it. So, gardaí looked for Suspect B’s connections.
At around 1pm the day after the robbery, Insp John Moroney, who was then a sergeant, was leading a search of roadside from Lordship when he spotted Aaron Brady in the passenger seat of his best friend's distinctive BMW.
Moroney knew Brady from the Dundalk car-ramming case two years before. He separated Brady from the driver and asked both to account for their movements the previous night.
Sitting on a barrier, Brady calmly lied, saying he had gone to his girlfriend’s house at about 8pm and stayed there until 3am, including things he had done the Thursday before and other things that he just made up. He also gave a fake phone number.
Suspect A gave a conflicting account. The inspector was suspicious, noting that Brady had told him that he did not hear about the shooting until that morning, which was strange since Brady was staying at Suspect A’s house - just 2km from Lordship, so close that it was inside the Garda cordon.
Gardaí at the scene following the shooting dead of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill
Brady would make much of this when he got into the box, insisting that it was “ridiculous” to suggest that he had said he did not know what had happened until that morning. He said Moroney was either mistaken or acting out of “malice”.
Within an hour of Brady giving that first false account, Police Service of Northern Ireland officers had called to King's house. She lied to protect Brady because she thought he had been laundering diesel.
She would later correct her statement and say that Brady arrived at her house after 11pm and left at about 3am, when he was picked up by Suspect A.
A day after the robbery, wildlife ranger Donald Whiteside came across a still-smouldering car on Cumson’s Road in south Armagh, a laneway off a country road in quiet farmland.
Finding burned-out cars is not uncommon, so he waited until Monday to report it. Once he did, PSNI gathered forensics from the ashes and debris, and collected litter from the surrounding ground.
Although nothing was found of forensic value, the car chassis number had survived. With that, gardaí quickly identified it as the Passat stolen outside Clogherhead in the early hours of January 23rd.
In the days afterwards, Brady acted normally. He was seen on CCTV at a local bookies on the Saturday, meeting up with friends. On Sunday he went to the cinema with Jessica King, Suspect A and Suspect A’s girlfriend.
Social media
Brady was being linked to the murder on social media. Worried, his father, Tony Brady arranged for his son to go to a Garda station to give a voluntary statement. They called on Crossmaglen-based solicitor Daniel McNamee, who advised Brady not to do so if he had had anything to do with it. However, Brady went on February 5th, 10 days after the killing.
More than six years later, shortly before the trial, Brady's lawyers sent a new alibi - saying that he had been in the Concession Road yard throughout the time of the robbery and shooting.
Brady spoke to Insp Mark Phillips and Det Garda Jim McGovern of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation. However, when it came to the crucial hours after 8pm, his solicitor asked for a private consultation because he realised Brady was not telling gardaí the same story he had told him.
Following this, McNamee told the detectives that his client was involved in laundering diesel that night and wanted to know if it was all right for him to talk about this. The gardaí told him they were only interested in Det Garda Donohoe and agreed to take an “off the record” statement about Brady’s involvement in diesel laundering.
Brady told them that he arrived at the Concession Road yard around 8pm to load diesel waste. He had spent about 15 minutes trying to start a forklift, but gave up when it would not start and headed to a friend’s house on nearby Lough Road.
Alibi
This would become one of the most controversial aspects of the case. More than six years later, shortly before the trial, Brady’s lawyers sent a new alibi - saying that he had been in the Concession Road yard throughout the time of the robbery and shooting.
Brady later elaborated in a written note sent to the DPP in which he said he lied to gardaí in his 2013 voluntary statement because he did not want to implicate himself in diesel laundering.
He had in fact, he then claimed, been able to start the forklift and spent 90 minutes loading waste before travelling to Lough Road, and then onto his girlfriend’s house. That would have put him at Concession Road until after 9.30pm, the time of the robbery.
Explaining the late alibi, defence counsel Michael O’Higgins said they had waited for disclosure, saying it would be “hideous” to expect a lawyer to advise their client to submit an alibi before seeing the prosecution’s evidence. The prosecution accused Brady of “sculpting” his alibi around what he knew from prosecution disclosure.
Brady, Suspect A and the Passat
In one of the biggest Garda investigations in the State, CCTV footage from 380 locations all over Louth and south Armagh was examined, while thousands of pages of reports were produced for, and by detectives.
One piece of CCTV footage, which was not very clear, from a house near Suspect A’s parents’ home showed a car leaving Suspect A’s house around midnight on the night the Passat was stolen.
Within minutes Suspect A was seen arriving at a nearby service station in his distinctive BMW, with its alloy wheels and vinyl-wrapped roof. Suspect A and his brother bought petrol and Lucozade and drove off.
Two phones belonging to Brady, and phones belonging to Suspect A and Suspect B, were active until about one hour before the robbery. Then they went silent for two hours.
There was at least one other person in the car. Phone records proved that man was Brady, said the prosecution. A similar car was identified later that night in Clogherhead, trying, gardaí believed, to identify a car that could be stolen for the raid.
Two cars consistent with Suspect A’s BMW and the stolen Passat were later identified travelling north from Clogherhead towards Dundalk on back roads, rather than the M1. A car arrived back at Suspect A’s house at 5am. The Passat was safely hidden away.
In the witness box, Brady said he could not remember where he stayed the night the car was stolen. However, it was apparent from mobile phone evidence and photos found on Jessica King’s phone that Brady had not left Suspect A’s side throughout that period.
Among the circumstantial evidence put forward by the prosecution was the fact that two phones belonging to Brady, and phones belonging to Suspect A and Suspect B, were active until about one hour before the robbery. Then they went silent for two hours.
Suspect B’s phone also appeared to be frantically trying to contact Brady minutes before the phones went dead, suggesting Suspect B was anxious to find Brady at, or near the rendezvous point in Lordship.
Circumstantial evidence
Witness Douglas Hughes linked Brady indirectly to where the Passat was burned. Six months before the Lordship raid, he was woken by a van passing his home at the corner of Chaleybeate Road and Cortamlat Road in Co Armagh.
Hughes jumped out of bed and drove up the road because he knew by the sound of the van “straining” to get up the hill and the hour of the morning that it was probably fuel launderers dumping waste.
Aaron Brady leaving Dundalk Court House. Photograph: Collins
On Cumson’s Road, he saw a white Transit van and two men dumping the cubes. When they saw him they drove off. After giving chase, he reported the van’s registration to gardaí. The van was later pictured at the fuel-laundering yard, and Brady admitted to having driven it.
Farmer Alan McBride bolstered the suggestion that Suspect A’s car was used in the robbery when he said he saw a dark-coloured Volkswagen followed by a BMW 5-Series driving at high speed past his farm shed on Chaleybeate Road within 30 minutes of the robbery. Twenty minutes later the BMW returned on its own.
New York
Having given voluntary statements in February 2013, Brady told gardaí that he would be ready to talk again. Instead, he applied for a British passport and flew from Belfast to Newark, New Jersey, on April 13th, 2013 under the 90-day visa waiver programme.
There, he was picked up at the airport by Suspect A and travelled to Boston to work for his friend’s firm. However, he was still trying to maintain his relationship with Jessica King, who moved to New York in 2014.
Around Valentine’s Day that year, instead of taking care of his friend’s business, Brady drove to New York to be with her. He fell out with Suspect A as a result. During his evidence, he said they have not spoken since.
Brady said he had had a great life in New York. His relationship with King ended, but he said he was making $65/hour working on building sites and got time-and-a-half for working more than 40 hours weekly.
In late 2015, Brady met Danielle Healy, an American citizen, and quickly began a relationship. She became pregnant within weeks of their first meeting and they decided to move in together. They have since married.
However, Brady soon realised that Insp Mark Phillips and Det Garda Jim McGovern were working with US Homeland Security in New York to find anyone who might have heard him admit to the Donohoe killing.
Six people gave statements, but the only two who actually gave evidence in court were Molly Staunton, who had started a relationship with one of Brady's flatmates in 2016, and Cahill. It was their evidence that identified Brady not just as one of the robbers, but as the killer.
Molly Staunton
In July of that year, Staunton said she was in her then-boyfriend's apartment when Brady emerged from his bedroom and went on what she called a “huge rant”.
He was distressed, saying he wanted to be a good father and worried that he would not be able to care for his soon-to-be-born son. She said he said that he had “had to carry around the guilt of having murdered a cop in Ireland” and that he “was the most feared man in Ireland”.
Staunton was described as unreliable by Brady’s defence. During cross-examination, she agreed with defence counsel Fiona Murphy that Brady had not confessed to shooting anyone, but had been upset because he was being linked to the murder.
When the prosecution showed her video footage of her own statement to gardaí she reverted to her original position. Staunton gave her testimony from her home in New York because Covid-19 restrictions meant that no public buildings were available.
While she was giving her evidence she was twice interrupted by a man who told her to “tell them what you’re supposed to tell them”. During the second interruption, which happened in front of the jury, he told her “no more testimony” and the video link went dead.
Brady’s lawyers asked for the jury to be discharged following the interruption and the suggestion that she may have been interfered with while giving evidence is likely to be a grounds for appeal.
Daniel Cahill
Brady's defence lawyers attacked Cahill's credibility. They suggested – solely on the basis that he had known the now-dead Ryan brothers – that he had been a member of the "Ryan Crew" or Dublin Real IRA before leaving Ireland in 2013.
Cahill strongly denied this. The trial judge later said it was an “outrageous” suggestion that should never have been put to the witness by barrister Justin McQuade, who apologised, said he had overstepped the mark, and moved on.
McQuade later accused Cahill of breaking into Brady's New York apartment and threatening to cut off Brady's toes with a Stanley knife. Cahill strongly denied any involvement in the break-in, or assault.
Throughout the trial, during lengthy legal argument and in front of the jury, the defence argued that Cahill may have given testimony so that the Department of Homeland Security would allow him to remain in America, even though he was there illegally.
Part of the basis for the defence's claim was a conversation between Suspect A and special agent Matt Katske of Homeland Security at Belfast Airport on June 6th, 2017, which had been secretly recorded by Suspect A or his girlfriend.
In it, the special agent can be heard talking about Suspect A’s brother, saying: “He’s being removed, he’s going home. I can find plenty wrong with his paperwork. If he puts Aaron Brady away, you will probably never hear from me again... I can’t do anything for him until he commits to doing something for us in this case.”
The defence argued that the jury should hear the recording so they could consider whether something similar had been said to Cahill before he made his statement to gardaí in July 2019 after he had been detained by Homeland Security.
The trial judge refused, ruling that it had been dealt with by the denials of Daniel Cahill and special agent Mary Ann Wade of Homeland Security who told the jury that she made no promises or offers to Cahill.
During legal argument, it emerged that an associate of Brady’s had contacted Cahill to ask if he had spoken to gardaí before the prosecution even disclosed to the defence that he had given a statement.
Brendan Grehan for the prosecution said there was evidence that Brady had “boots on the ground” in New York and one man in particular was suspected of relaying information from the US back to Brady. Numerous witnesses had been contacted, said Grehan.
On June 24th, on the second day of Cahill’s cross-examination, Grehan said he had become aware of “very serious attempts” to intimidate Cahill. However, the witness remained firm, insisting he had heard Brady confess three times.
When Brady got in the box he described Cahill as a “lying psychopath”, a description that Grehan attempted to throw back at Brady, suggesting that he was the one who lacks morality, shows no remorse or empathy, and constantly seeks to blame others.
Contempt
Cahill was not the only person subjected to intimidation. In what Mr Justice White described as "the most outrageous contempt of court" he had ever seen, a video of one witness statement to gardaí was circulated on WhatsApp, Facebook and Youtube.
It was accompanied with text accusing him of “touting” or calling him a “rat” and claiming that he had criminal charges against him dropped as payment. This witness, and his family in Ireland had been subjected to “widespread intimidation”, said Grehan.
In his statement, this man said he heard Brady admit to shooting Det Garda Donohoe. He lives in New York where, due to the extent of the pandemic lockdown, it was not possible for him to be subpoenaed to give evidence.
Another man, who also lives in New York, told gardaí that he heard Brady “boasting” in a pub that he knew what it was like to kill someone. When Brady realised he was there, the man alleged Brady took him outside, assaulted him and warned him to keep his mouth shut. The man was left with a scar over his eye which was photographed by gardaí.
Some months into the trial a solicitor on behalf of this man contacted Insp Mark Phillips of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and told him that he would not return to Ireland to give evidence because of outstanding criminal matters in Northern Ireland.
When gardaí suggested that evidence could be given by a New York videolink, the man’s lawyer refused, saying his client had been under “immense duress” when he had spoken previously and would not “voluntarily testify”.
Another witness said his recorded statement to gardaí was not accurate. Two witnesses in Northern Ireland did not come forward despite arrest warrants. One had given, but retracted an alibi for Brady. The other had heard Brady admit to the killing.
Cahill’s evidence
Besides the incident following the bar brawl and the drunken evening when Brady broke down over several hours and admitted to killing a garda in a “robbery gone wrong”, there was a third admission by Brady witnessed by Cahill.
It was some time in 2015 when customers at the Coachman’s invited Cahill to a party. When he arrived, Brady and three other men were “trying to outdo each other” in a “pissing contest” about which of them was the toughest, the barman remembered.
Brady had claimed that he was the only one “who had killed someone”. He said that “everyone around knows who he is and what he had done and the crimes he had committed and this was why nobody wants to get on the wrong side of him.”
Brady, said Cahill, had boasted that it “takes a certain type of person to manage these feelings well”. In his closing speech, prosecuting counsel Staines said such exchanges showed that Brady had worn the killing “like a badge of honour”.
Staines described Brady as a “skilled and practised liar” who had told a “litany of lies” and used the killing to “intimidate and curry influence” in New York, “sometimes crying, lamenting in drink or bragging with his chest puffed out”.
Brady had been confident that nobody would talk. “He was wrong about that. Not all the people he talked to about this were willing to turn the other way. Two came to give evidence.”
Each piece of circumstantial evidence against Brady could be a coincidence, Staines told the jury, but “when coincidence is put on top of coincidence” there “comes a point that it is an affront to common sense that all these little things are coincidence”.
Defence case
For the defence, O’Higgins told the jury that Cahill’s evidence was “shrouded in mystery” and that he may have been subjected to threats or inducement by Homeland Security.
Counsel asked the jury to consider why, five years after Cahill first claimed to have heard Brady confess, he “falls out of the sky with this evidence” on July 25th, 2019, in his first statement to gardaí.
The catalyst for Cahill coming forward was, he said, “an early morning knock on the door” by Homeland Security officers, which had led Cahill to run naked into the attic, where he stayed for hours.
Steroids and a suspected cannabis plant were found in the apartment, but no charges were brought even though Cahill had overstayed his visa. Immigration lawyer Kerry Bretz said he had never seen that happen during a 30-year career.
O’Higgins insisted there was evidence that his client had been at the Concession Road yard at the time of the murder and gardaí had ignored evidence supporting that. The prosecution had come to court with a sculpted case that editorialised the evidence.
Jury’s decision
Ultimately it was up to the jury to decide. They were faced with many choices. They could find Brady guilty of capital murder, guilty of ordinary murder, guilty of manslaughter or not guilty. They also had to decide whether he was guilty in relation to the robbery at Lordship.
They found, by a majority of 11 to one, that the prosecution had proven beyond reasonable doubt that Brady was guilty of the capital murder of Det Garda Donohoe, a crime that carries with it a mandatory sentence of 40 years’ imprisonment.


theirishtimes--2020-08-12--‘Growing scepticism’ among publicans about September reopening

There is growing concern and “ scepticism ” across the pub trade that bars not serving food will be unable to reopen at the end of the month given the current public health situation , vintners groups have said .
The Licensed Vintners Association ( LVA ) and the Vintners Federation of Ireland ( VFI ) said on Wednesday it was “ critical ” that the Government announces a support package for pubs before the next possible reopening date on August 31st .
They called for a direct financial aid package to be provided if pubs are not allowed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for treating pubs that do not serve food differently to other sectors .
The groups said there was “ growing scepticism across the industry ” that pubs would be allowed to reopen by the end of the month given the recent rise in Covid-19 cases and concerns that reopening pubs could lead to more infections .
The Government ’ s decision not to allow pubs to reopen from Monday means 3,500 bars employing 25,000 people will have been unable to trade for nearly half the year , the LVA and VFI said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ would like to provide additional financial supports to pubs if they are not allowed to reopen at the end of the month .
“ If it is the case that we ’ re saying on the 28th of August that you can ’ t reopen , I would like to be in a position at that same Cabinet meeting to have a package of additional supports for pubs and nightclubs recognising that they ’ re a sector that has been ordered by Government to stay closed longer than everyone else , ” he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ met vintners groups on Tuesday and said he is “ sympathetic ” to their difficulties and the argument that they need additional financial support .
“ In some ways they are being asked to make a sacrifice for the rest of society , ” he said .
“ I love to go to the pub , I ’ m looking forward to going to the pub again , and nightclubs , but they ’ re not as important as schools.
” The vintners groups are calling for payments to be offered to pubs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ basis as the recently enhanced Covid-19 restart scheme .
These payments would range from €270 per week to €1,650 weekly depending on the rateable valuation of the premises and should apply from June 29th onwards , they said .
The Pandemic Unemployment Payment ( PUP ) and Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme should also be maintained for all closed pubs until their reopening .
All pub licences should also be extended for one year until September 2021 , not including licence renewals which gardaí object to in September .
Mr Varadkar said it would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ survival plan ” for industries that have been ordered by Government to stay closed , such as pubs , but including theatres , and also the aviation sector .
“ It is becoming increasingly clear that there are a number of sectors that may not be able to operate or open at all for many months , ” he said .
“ It is my view that those sectors that have been ordered by Government to stay closed , or effectively closed , for reasons of the pandemic will need extra care , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we want them still to be there when we get through this .
And that means a survival plan for those particular industries.
” He said the Government will be working on “ particular tailored solutions ” for these areas between now and the budget .
A pub support package would ensure “ fair and consistent ” support for pubs based on a system of payments already introduced by the Government , Donal O ’ Keeffe said , LVA chief executive .
“ These businesses have already been left in the lurch , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no consideration given to helping these pubs and employees who are struggling , ” he said .
“ None of these pubs want to stay closed , but if they have to , then the pub support package removes the income uncertainty , which is currently leaving these pubs at breaking point .
”

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has hinted that pubs may remain closed after the August deadline and that he's "looking forward to going to the pub and nightclubs but they're not as important as schools". Video: Enda O'Dowd
There is growing concern and “scepticism” across the pub trade that bars not serving food will be unable to reopen at the end of the month given the current public health situation, vintners groups have said.
The Licensed Vintners Association (LVA) and the Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI) said on Wednesday it was "critical" that the Government announces a support package for pubs before the next possible reopening date on August 31st.
They called for a direct financial aid package to be provided if pubs are not allowed to reopen in September and criticised the Government for treating pubs that do not serve food differently to other sectors.
The groups said there was “growing scepticism across the industry” that pubs would be allowed to reopen by the end of the month given the recent rise in Covid-19 cases and concerns that reopening pubs could lead to more infections.
READ MORE
The Government’s decision not to allow pubs to reopen from Monday means 3,500 bars employing 25,000 people will have been unable to trade for nearly half the year, the LVA and VFI said.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar on Wednesday said he would like to provide additional financial supports to pubs if they are not allowed to reopen at the end of the month.
“If it is the case that we’re saying on the 28th of August that you can’t reopen, I would like to be in a position at that same Cabinet meeting to have a package of additional supports for pubs and nightclubs recognising that they’re a sector that has been ordered by Government to stay closed longer than everyone else,” he told reporters in Dublin.
Mr Varadkar met vintners groups on Tuesday and said he is “sympathetic” to their difficulties and the argument that they need additional financial support.
“In some ways they are being asked to make a sacrifice for the rest of society,” he said. “I love to go to the pub, I’m looking forward to going to the pub again, and nightclubs, but they’re not as important as schools.”
The vintners groups are calling for payments to be offered to pubs that remain closed on the same pro-rata basis as the recently enhanced Covid-19 restart scheme. These payments would range from €270 per week to €1,650 weekly depending on the rateable valuation of the premises and should apply from June 29th onwards, they said. The Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP)and Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme should also be maintained for all closed pubs until their reopening.
All pub licences should also be extended for one year until September 2021, not including licence renewals which gardaí object to in September.
Mr Varadkar said it would be necessary to work on a “survival plan” for industries that have been ordered by Government to stay closed, such as pubs, but including theatres, and also the aviation sector.
“It is becoming increasingly clear that there are a number of sectors that may not be able to operate or open at all for many months,” he said.
“It is my view that those sectors that have been ordered by Government to stay closed, or effectively closed, for reasons of the pandemic will need extra care, extra attention and extra support. Because we want them still to be there when we get through this. And that means a survival plan for those particular industries.”
He said the Government will be working on “particular tailored solutions” for these areas between now and the budget.
A pub support package would ensure “fair and consistent” support for pubs based on a system of payments already introduced by the Government, Donal O’Keeffe said, LVA chief executive.
“These businesses have already been left in the lurch, with their expected reopening twice delayed and no consideration given to helping these pubs and employees who are struggling,” he said. “None of these pubs want to stay closed, but if they have to, then the pub support package removes the income uncertainty, which is currently leaving these pubs at breaking point.”


theirishtimes--2020-08-12--Garda Adrian Donohoe profile: ‘Big in heart with so much to live for’

Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe , who was murdered seven years ago by Aaron Brady during an armed robbery at Lordship Credit Union near Dundalk , Co Louth , grew up in the tiny Cavan village of Kilnaleck .
The son of Hugh and Peggy Donohoe , he spent his childhood on a small farm in the village alongside his siblings Alan , Colm , Martin , Anne and Mary .
Standing at 6ft 4in as a teenager , he made a formidable midfielder for the local Gaelic football club Crosserlough , before going on to represent Cavan at under-21s level @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decision that would define his life , entering Templemore Garda College as part of an intake of 100 recruits .
Two of his brothers would follow him into the Garda .
The recruits were divided into classes of 25 each .
In Adrian ’ s class was Caroline Deloughrey , from Kilkee in Co Clare , who he would go on to marry and who would lead the mourners at his funeral 20 years later .
Also in the class was Colm Horkan , the garda detective who was shot dead with his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , last April .
Donohoe would become the 87th member to be killed on duty .
Horkan would be the 89th .
“ The chances of having one of our class shot to death was 14,500 to one .
But it has happened to us , not once , but twice , ” former classmate Gda John McCarthy wrote earlier this year after Colm Horkan ’ s death .
Donohoe ’ s “ wit and humour ” in training would never be forgotten , he said .
“ It often came at just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if you were feeling down or falling behind.
” Three years after graduating from Templemore , Donohoe and his new wife settled down in Lordship on the Cooley Peninsula in Co Louth .
They had two children , Amy and Niall , who both attended Bellurgan National School , directly across the road from the Lordship Credit Union where their father would be shot at the age of 41 .
The children were six and seven at the time of his death .
The family holidayed frequently in Caroline ’ s home town @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were often seen playing on the beach .
In Louth , Donohoe played and coached with his local club , St Patrick ’ s GAA .
Remembering him after his death , club chairman Alan Duffy called Adrian a “ true role model ” who was well-loved and whose passing had left a “ huge void ” .
“ We all miss Adrian , ” he said .
“ People like that , they don ’ t come round too often.
” Both Adrian and Caroline were assigned to Dundalk Garda Station where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Adrian was appointed a detective garda .
In his role as a garda on street duty , he developed a strong reputation for proactively targeting local crime .
As part of his duties , Donohoe had to occasionally escort credit union staff as they collected money from various branches for deposit in a secure location .
This was his assignment on the night of January 25th , 2014 .
The first half of the escort was undertaken by two unarmed gardaí , Alan Lynch and Tony Golden .
A year and a half @ @ @ @ @ @ @ garda to die on duty when he was shot dead while dealing with a domestic violence case .
Donohoe and his colleague Det Gda Joe Ryan took over later in the evening to provide an armed escort for the cash collection .
When he was ambushed and shot at 9.30pm at Lordship Credit Union , he was just 4km from his home .
Donohoe was a loyal , honest , virtuous and faithful man who laid down his life for his community , Fr Michael Cusack would tell his funeral five days later @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who gave himself to his wife and two young children , his job , the GAA and the community he lived in , the priest told some 4,000 mourners , 2,500 of which were uniformed gardaí who stood for several hours in the street outside at the State funeral .
“ Adrian , Det Gda Donohoe , husband , father , son , brother , colleague , community leader , GAA man , friend , we will never ever forget you , ” then Garda commissioner Martin Callinan told mourners .
His brother @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stature ” and “ big in heart , with so much to live for ” .

29-year-old Aaron Brady from Crossmaglen has been found guilty of the capital murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe at Lordship Credit Union, Bellurgan, Co Louth on January 25th, 2013. Video: Conor Lally
Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe, who was murdered seven years ago by Aaron Brady during an armed robbery at Lordship Credit Union near Dundalk, Co Louth, grew up in the tiny Cavan village of Kilnaleck.
The son of Hugh and Peggy Donohoe, he spent his childhood on a small farm in the village alongside his siblings Alan, Colm, Martin, Anne and Mary.
Garda Adrian Donohoe. Photograph courtesy of Donohoe Family/Lorraine Teevan
Standing at 6ft 4in as a teenager, he made a formidable midfielder for the local Gaelic football club Crosserlough, before going on to represent Cavan at under-21s level.
In July 1994 he made the decision that would define his life, entering Templemore Garda College as part of an intake of 100 recruits. Two of his brothers would follow him into the Garda.
READ MORE
The recruits were divided into classes of 25 each. In Adrian's class was Caroline Deloughrey, from Kilkee in Co Clare, who he would go on to marry and who would lead the mourners at his funeral 20 years later.
Also in the class was Colm Horkan, the garda detective who was shot dead with his own weapon in Castlerea, Co Roscommon, in June. Donohoe would become the 87th member to be killed on duty. Horkan would be the 89th.
“The chances of having one of our class shot to death was 14,500 to one. But it has happened to us, not once, but twice,” former classmate Gda John McCarthy wrote earlier this year after Colm Horkan’s death.
Donohoe’s “wit and humour” in training would never be forgotten, he said. “It often came at just the right time to lift the mood if you were feeling down or falling behind.”
Three years after graduating from Templemore, Donohoe and his new wife settled down in Lordship on the Cooley Peninsula in Co Louth. They had two children, Amy and Niall, who both attended Bellurgan National School, directly across the road from the Lordship Credit Union where their father would be shot at the age of 41. The children were six and seven at the time of his death.
The family holidayed frequently in Caroline’s home town of Kilkee where Adrian and his children were often seen playing on the beach.
In Louth, Donohoe played and coached with his local club, St Patrick's GAA. Remembering him after his death, club chairman Alan Duffy called Adrian a "true role model" who was well-loved and whose passing had left a "huge void".
Adrian Donohoe in green and white, playing for St Pat’s in 2001. Photograph: Tom Conachy
"We all miss Adrian, " he said. "People like that, they don't come round too often."
Both Adrian and Caroline were assigned to Dundalk Garda Station where Caroline worked with the immigration unit and Adrian was appointed a detective garda. In his role as a garda on street duty, he developed a strong reputation for proactively targeting local crime.
As part of his duties, Donohoe had to occasionally escort credit union staff as they collected money from various branches for deposit in a secure location.
This was his assignment on the night of January 25th, 2014. The first half of the escort was undertaken by two unarmed gardaí, Alan Lynch and Tony Golden. A year and a half later Gda Golden would become the 88th garda to die on duty when he was shot dead while dealing with a domestic violence case.
Donohoe and his colleague Det Gda Joe Ryan took over later in the evening to provide an armed escort for the cash collection. When he was ambushed and shot at 9.30pm at Lordship Credit Union, he was just 4km from his home.
Donohoe was a loyal, honest, virtuous and faithful man who laid down his life for his community, Fr Michael Cusack would tell his funeral five days later.
He was a loving family man who gave himself to his wife and two young children, his job, the GAA and the community he lived in, the priest told some 4,000 mourners, 2,500 of which were uniformed gardaí who stood for several hours in the street outside at the State funeral.
Caroline Donohoe, widow of Adrian, at his funeral in St Joseph’s Redemptorist Church, Dundalk Co Louth. Photograph: Julien Behal
"Adrian, Det Gda Donohoe, husband, father, son, brother, colleague, community leader, GAA man, friend, we will never ever forget you," then Garda commissioner Martin Callinan told mourners.
His brother Colm said Adrian was “big in stature” and “big in heart, with so much to live for”.