Irish government formally apologises to family of prison officer killed by IRA
Ireland's prime minister Micheál Martin apologised in parliament to the family of Brian Stack over failings in the police investigation. Stack was shot in Dublin in 1983 by the IRA, and no one has been convicted of his killing.
Irish prime minister (taoiseach) Micheál Martin formally apologised on Wednesday, on behalf of the state, to the family of murdered prison officer Brian Stack. He spoke in the Dáil, the lower house of the Irish parliament. The apology concerns failings in the police investigation into Stack's 1983 killing in Dublin by the Provisional IRA, a republican paramilitary group active during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. No one has been brought to justice for the crime.
Stack, a father of three, was the chief prison officer at Portlaoise Prison, a high-security jail. He was crossing a street in Dublin after a boxing match when he was shot in the back of the neck. He was left paralysed and died 18 months later, aged 49. He was the only prison officer in the Republic killed in violence linked to the Troubles.
Investigation failings
Irish police (gardaí) carried out three separate investigations. In 2007 the Garda Commissioner ordered a review by the Garda Serious Crime Review Team, which found serious failings and shortcomings in management. Martin listed them: a map of the crime scene was not kept, nor was a motorbike helmet found near the scene and linked to the crime, and custody of exhibits, including fingerprints, samples and debris, was not maintained. Whether Stack's colleagues and prisoners were interviewed was not documented, and his family and wider circle of friends were not interviewed.
Martin called the loss of potential evidence utterly unacceptable and said police accept these matters affected the investigation. He added that the Provisional IRA is still in possession of all the facts.
Reaction
Stack's son Austin said the apology means an awful lot to the family. He said the first investigation's review found 194 errors and omissions, but the family has been refused sight of the report. Foreign affairs minister Helen McEntee said the state failed the family but that the Provisional IRA is responsible. UK Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant warmly welcomed the apology.
The IRA admitted the killing in 2013 after a long family campaign. In 2019 the family received an apology from then garda commissioner Drew Harris.
