Opinion: Justice has not yet been done for Adrian Donohoe

This week's Cavanman's Diary

There are some events which are so seismic, that leave so indelible a mark on the memory, that you will never forget where you were when you heard about them.

The cold-blooded murder of Det Garda Adrian Donohoe on January 25, 2013 was one such incident. I had been in Australia for a month and returned that morning. I was at home that Friday night when word began to filter through about the despicable act perpetrated at Lordship Credit Union in Co Louth.

The late Garda Donohoe was not just a Garda but a family man and a man deeply embedded in community, too, both here in Cavan and in Louth. The Donohoe family are well-known and respected on the local GAA scene. Adrian had represented club and county with distinction, donning with pride the famous black and yellow of Crosserlough and blue and white of Cavan.

In 1989, he scored four points from midfield as Crosserlough won the Minor Championship final against St Killian’s. A month later, he fisted the winning goal in injury time as his club won the U21 title at the expense of Drumcrave.

The following year, he played on a St Pat’s College team that made the MacRory Cup semi-final and in 1991, he picked up another U21 medal and he would partner county star Philip Smith at midfield in the Senior Championship final later that season.

When his work took him to Dundalk, he threw his lot in with the local St Pat’s club, a powerhouse based on the Cooley peninsula and became a popular and active member of the club. Adrian Donohoe, then, was a great GAA man.

His killer, Aaron Brady, was a GAA member too. He had played for Crossmaglen Rangers and also played football in New York, from where he was ultimately deported after a dawn raid which set in motion the chain of events which ultimately saw him convicted of capital murder.

Two years before he took the Cavan Detective Garda’s life, Aaron Brady had rammed three taxis and a Garda van on a rampage in Dundalk, shocking footage of which was shown on RTE’s Primetime programme on Thursday night last.

Brady pleaded guilty to this offence but before he could be sentenced, he skipped town, moving to the east coast of the United States where, the prosecution would successfully argue at his later murder trial, he wore his status as a killer of an officer of the law as a “badge of honour”.

Eventually, Brady was tracked down and deported back to Ireland, where he would belatedly face the music for his actions in 2011. It was 2017 when the sentencing hearing finally took place, before he was charged with the capital murder.

At that hearing, it seemed that another thing which Brady wore as a badge of honour was his membership of Crossmaglen Rangers GAA club.

At the hearing for those driving offences, during which the stolen car Brady was driving at one stage went on two wheels after mounting the side of another car, a character reference was handed in to the judge from Tony McEntee, the well-respected Crossmaglen Rangers and Armagh All-Ireland-winning footballer and highly-regarded coach. The court heard that Brady was described as “reliable and trustworthy”.

Brady was also described as a “prodigious player” and it was noted that his father was a former chairman of the Crossmaglen Rangers club.

On Primetime, footage from one of Crossmaglen’s All-Ireland final wins in Croke Park was played, featuring a 19-year-old Aaron Brady in the crowd. At his sentencing hearing in 2017, his barrister also stated that “Crossmaglen are one of the best clubs in Ireland and to be playing there at U21 level takes a lot”.

For Adrian Donohoe’s family and colleagues, the hurt will never go away but the search for justice continues. Aaron Brady may be behind bars but his accomplices in the robbery and murder remain free.

It has been reported also that the Gardaí are conducting a separate investigation into the alarming intimidation of witnesses which went on during Brady’s trial.

A video of a witness speaking to investigating officers was somehow leaked and ended up being shared on social media along with text accusing the individual of being “a tout”. This was described by Mr Justice Michael White as “the most outrageous contempt” he had ever seen.

Another witness reportedly received a death threat. In all, five people who had given statements to Gardaí either recanted what they had said or did not give evidence in court, with one speaking of being ”petrified”.

At Adrian Donohoe’s funeral, celebrant Fr Michael Cusack appealed to anyone who may have been listening. “If you have any semblance of good in you,” he said, “in the name of God, turn these people in.”

However, several of those who were willing to speak out were silenced but the exhaustively-compiled case was still strong enough to convince 11 members of the jury of Brady’s guilt and he was duly convicted.

As Colum Donohoe, a brother of Adrian’s, stated outside the courthouse, the quest for justice will continue.

The authorities are determined to hunt the rest of the gang down and will be boosted greatly by seeing Brady put away.

But last week’s verdict was just the first step; justice has not been done yet.