Anniversary tributes to murdered Veronica Guerin
VERONICA Guerin’s life remains an ‘example for today’, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has told a 20th anniversary Mass for the murdered journalist.
‘We remember Veronica Guerin 20 years after her murder,’ the Archbishop of Dublin said. ‘We remember her not as a news story of the past, but as an example for today.’
‘We have, uncompromisingly, to expose and condemn the horrible violence and corruption of those who are involved in the traffic of death and disregard for life which is the drugs trade.’
Mrs Guerin was a leading crime journalist at the time of her death.
She was shot six times as she sat in her car on the Naas dual carriageway on June 26, 1996, after two men drew alongside her on a motorbike.
Brian Meehan, from Crumlin, is serving a life sentence for her murder.
John Gilligan was acquitted of her murder, but was for jailed for cannabis trafficking. He survived an assassination attempt shortly after being released from prison in 2014.
Archbishop Martin has spoken out in recent months at the escalation in gangland murders in the feud involving the Kinahan and Hutch gangs. He used his homily at the anniversary Mass to call on people to support the work of gardaí against drug dealers.
‘Those who are involved in this disgusting and despicable industry will still attempt to silence anyone who has the courage to call evil evil. We must not let them overcome,’ he said.
Archbishop Martin said Mrs Guerin remains someone who showed integrity and courage and has been an inspiration.
He spoke of the need for a united society against drugs, criminality and gangsterism.
‘The democracy which we cherish requires honesty and integrity and not just individual integrity,’ said Archbishop Martin.
‘The corrupt flourish in a society where complacency and turning a blind eye flourish. We vilify democracy when we lack the courage and perseverance to call evil evil.
‘We vilify the men and women of integrity when we fail to remember and support what they stood for. We honour the men and women of integrity when we show our own mettle.’
He continued: ‘I have said on many occasions, in the face of the current bout of violence in Dublin, that the men and women of violence have two weapons in their armoury: their guns and our silence.’
The National Union of Journalists also paid tribute to Mrs Guerin in recent days, calling her an inspiration to reporters worldwide.