Barr tribunal: Gardaí in Granard, Co Longford, duped Mr John Carthy into surrendering his shotgun because they were concerned about reports that he was unstable, the Barr tribunal was told yesterday
Retired garda Mr Oliver Cassidy, who was stationed at Granard in 1998, told Mr Ray Comyn SC counsel for the Tribunal, that he had known the Carthys as a law-abiding family.
However, in August 1998 he had become aware that Mr Carthy "may have threatened people in Abbeylara" with a gun.
Mr Cassidy said he was unable to recall from whom he had received these concerns, it might have been something said casually to him, rather than a formal complaint. Mr Cassidy wrote a note on the Garda file dated August 10th, 1998, in which he recorded "on this date I received a report that Mr Carthy was unstable".
A following note dated August 11th and signed by Sgt Desmond Nally of Granard Garda Station asked "has this man a history of mental illness?" and requested a complete report on Mr Carthy's background. The background report was subsequently supplied by Mr Cassidy and confirmed Mr Carthy had been treated for psychiatric illness.
Mr Cassidy said he decided the best way to get the gun from Mr Carthy was to say there was a routine check on all licensed firearms and the gun would have to be temporarily surrendered to gardaí. Mr Cassidy called to the Carthy home and found Mr Carthy reluctant to surrender the gun, but compliant. Mr Cassidy told the tribunal that while Mr Carthy had been reluctant, he had been pleasant at all times and was not truculent or difficult in any way.
Following the acquisition of the gun the gardaí were concerned to get locals to make a statement which would have formed the basis for a Garda decision not to return the gun.
Mr Cassidy said as far as he could recall he would have spoken to Mrs Evelyn McLoughlin, Mr John Gilligan and Mr P.J. Farrell.
However, none of Mr Carthy's neighbours was willing to make a formal statement. "It was not unusual that people were reluctant to cast aspersions locally," Mr Cassidy said yesterday.
During the period that the gun was in Garda custody the licence for Mr Carthy's gun expired and gardaí were able to retain the firearm.
The tribunal was told by a number of Garda witnesses yesterday that following his difficulty in getting the gun returned Mr Carthy called to Granard Garda station on a number of occasions attempting to renew his gun licence.
Sgt Daniel Monahan told the tribunal that he had spoken to Mr Carthy on a number of occasions in October 1998 about the allegations that he had threatened people with the shotgun and Mr Carthy had rejected this.
Sgt Monahan said Mr Carthy showed no signs of depression or of being a very sick man. Mr Carthy, he said, appeared "jovial, intelligent and frank." Following the submission by Mr Carthy of a letter of fitness to hold a gun, from his psychiatrist, Dr David Stanley the firearm was returned to Mr Carthy in November 1998. Sgt Monahan said he had no reason not to renew the licence subsequently in 1999.
Sgt Nally gave evidence that on his return from a conference in Galway in April 2000 he became aware of the siege at the Carthy home at Abbeylara.
