CHARGED WITH COLM MURDER
Man in court over fatal shooting of hero garda
A MAN has been charged with the murder of Detective Garda Colm Horkan.
Stephen Silver appeared at a special sitting of Castlerea District Court at 10.30pm last night.
The 43 year-old was brought the short 100m drive from the Garda station where Mr Horkan, below, had been stationed to the nearby courthouse on Main Street in Co Roscommon. At one point the accused said: “Absolutely
HUNDREDS of people lined the streets yesterday of two neighbouring towns to pay their respects to Det Colm Horkan.
The remains of the officer returned to Ballaghaderreen in Co Roscommon, where he was stationed for 14 years, while heartbroken friends also paid their respects in his native Charlestown in Co Mayo.
Some people wiped away tears as poignant applause erupted when the hearse carrying tragic Det Horkan draped in a tricolour arrived at the station.
And there were similar heartbreaking scenes in Charlestown.
Dozens of gardai who served with the dedicated 49-year-old formed a guard of honour. Det Horkan’s brother
Dermot, who runs the family funeral home business, sat in the passenger seat at the front of the hearse carrying his brother’s remains.
Gda Martin Coyle, who worked alongside the slain detective for 13 years in Ballaghaderreen, said: “He was an absolute gentleman.
“I’ve known him for over 30 years and I played football against him and with him before I ever joined the guards and the job.
“I’m from Kiltaine originally and he would have been playing with Charlestown so we would have played against each other and we were both involved with the Mayo Under-21 team in 1989.
“We worked together here and everyone knew him and he was highly respected.
“He was a decent, honest, straight lad and you couldn’t ask for a better colleague or a better friend. He was very loyal and just a brilliant person.
“He was always in good form and he was just one of the good guys, that’s the long and the short of it.”
The highly-regarded GAA fanatic was on patrol in Castlerea, Co Roscommon, at the time of his death shortly after 11.45pm on Wednesday. Almost exactly 40 years earlier Det Gda John Morley and Gda Henry Byrne, who were both colleagues in Castlerea, were shot dead while responding to a bank robbery in Ballaghaderreen on July 7, 1980.
Gda Coyle stressed yesterday the shocking killing of Det Horkan “brings back memories” of the incident.
He said: “John Morley was a guard here as well before he went into Castlerea all those years ago. So it’s an emotional day for everyone.”
Books of condolence were opened at Garda stations throughout the country yesterday. Amanda Flannery and Kathleen Naughton were two of the hordes of people who felt compelled to pay their respects.
Amanda said: “I came because Colm was an absolute gentleman
and he was brilliant at his job.he was such a nice guy and it’s very sad.
“Colm was a guard here for years, even when I was a teenager.
“He was a lovely fella, anything you asked of him, he’d help you with it. It’s unbelievable.”
Kathleen added: “I’m here today to pay my respects because I knew Colm and I have a son who’s a guard in the district in Roscommon.”
The postmortem on Det Horkan’s remains was completed on Thursday night ahead of his State funeral tomorrow.
The service will abide by Covid-19 restrictions, but the Horkan family and An Garda Siochana have discussed options whereby local people, friends and his colleagues can safely attend.
The funeral Mass for the eldest of seven siblings will take place at St James’s Church in Charlestown at noon followed by burial in the adjoining cemetery.
He was loyal, always in good form and just a brilliant person. He was one of the good guys
GDA MARTIN COYLE YESTERDAY