Family of prison officer murdered by IRA express ‘renewed hope’ after meeting Garda

The son of a prison officer who was murdered by the Provisional IRA 40 years ago has spoken of his “renewed hope” after meeting gardaí on Monday.

Austin Stack, son of Brian Stack, said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has sent the file on the death of his father back to gardaí, who are following “significant new lines of inquiry”.

Brian Stack, a prison officer in Portlaoise Prison, was shot in the neck as he left a boxing fight in Dublin in 1983. He died 18 months later. The Provisional IRA claimed responsibility for his death but no one was ever convicted.

Austin Stack, who was 14 years old when his father died, has been campaigning for some time to bring those responsible to justice. In 2013, former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams facilitated a meeting between the Stack family and a senior figure in the IRA.

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In 2019, a file on Stack’s murder was sent to the DPP after Garda Commissioner Drew Harris apologised to the Stack family for the way the murder investigation was handled.

“It does leave us with some new hope that it may lead to a conviction, even after 40 years,” Austin Stack told RTÉ News after his meeting with gardaí. “Last Friday it was 40 years since the shooting and we’re still quite hopeful. I’m a lot happier than before I went into the meeting. It gives us renewed hope.”

The Garda said it does not comment on interactions with private individuals.