Gardaí bombed by IRA to be honoured at last
THE bravery of a murdered garda and his four colleagues, who were seriously injured in a Provisional IRA ambush 41 years ago, is finally being recognised officially.
A Scott medal will be awarded posthumously to Garda Michael Clerkin and to his colleagues at a ceremony at the Garda College in Templemore, Co Tipperary, next month.
The move has been welcomed by Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan, who has lobbied persistently for the medal awards since he became a Dáil deputy in the 1980s.
The five gardaí were ambushed when they investigated an anonymous telephone call stating that a group of IRA men had gathered in a derelict cottage at Garryhinch, 5km outside Mountmellick, Co Laois, on the evening of October 16, 1976.
The caller said the IRA was planning to assassinate the late Oliver J Flanagan, who was minister of state for local government and TD for LaoisOffaly at the time. He was the father of current Justice Minister Mr Flanagan.
The ambush took place the day after the Supreme Court upheld the validity of the Emergency Powers Bill, which had been passed the previous month by the Dáil and the Seanad and was being introduced to help deal with the threat posed to the security of the State by the Provisional IRA. It followed the murder of British Ambassador Christopher Ewart-Biggs in a 200-pound roadside bomb at Glencairn, Sandyford, Dublin, and an earlier explosion at the Special Criminal Court.
The call was made to Portarlington Garda station. A group of five gardaí, from Portarlington and Portlaoise stations, were sent to Garryhinch, unaware the call was a hoax designed to lure them into an ambush.
When they arrived, they found the front door locked. Gda Clerkin, who was 24 years old and the youngest member of the party, was directed to gain entry through an open rear window. After he got in, he walked towards the front door to allow the others in.
But the door had been booby-trapped by the IRA and Gda Clerkin, a native of Monaghan, was killed instantly in the blast.
Det Garda Tom Peters was left blind and had severe damage to his hearing while the other three, Sgt Jim Cannon, Det Garda Ben Thornton and Gda Gerry Bohan, all suffered serious injuries. The explosion demolished the house.
Charlie Flanagan has a clear memory of that fateful night.
He told the Irish
Independent last night:
“We were all at home in Mountmellick earlier that night. A call came through from the gardaí for my father.
“He emerged ashen-faced after the call and told us that nobody was to go out that night. He did not elaborate.
“At about 11.50pm, we were about to go to bed when there was a rap on the door and a number of gardaí were there.
“I could see uniformed and plain-clothes gardaí surrounding the house. Some of the gardaí came in and told my father what had happened.”
Mr Flanagan said he spoke to every minister for justice since Gerry Collins held the post to press the case for Scott medals for the five gardaí.
“This decision is belated but hugely important. I am glad that after 41 years, their courage is being recognised.
“These men died and were injured in the course of duty and in the protection of my father and our family, and it is poignant for me that the Scott medals will be awarded in my presence as Minister for Justice”, Mr Flanagan added.
He acknowledged the work of former Garda commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan, current Deputy Commissioner John Twomey, and Laois-Offaly Chief Superintendent John Scanlan in helping to ensure the five men were honoured.