Garda killer Pearse McAuley received a Republican funeral in his hometown of Strabane, Co Tyrone, on Thursday.
His funeral mass took place at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, which is within an area that is strongly republican to this day, with tricolours flying at half mast.
Sinn Féin politicians campaigned for his release and that of the three other men who shot Det Gda Jerry McCabe dead at Adare in Co Limerick in 1996. However, prominent figures from the party were absent from the memorial, which was attended by an estimated 200 people.
McAuley (59) was found dead on Monday morning in his home. He had moved back to Strabane two years ago after being released from prison, this time having served eight years of a 12-year sentence for a frenzied attack in 2014 on his then wife, the now Sinn Féin TD Pauline Tully.
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McAuley’s funeral took place in the same church where he was baptised shortly after his birth in November 1964. A photograph of his late parents, Pearse Snr and Sheila McCauley, was placed on the altar along with a fishing rod.
The funeral mass was concelebrated by brothers Fr Declan Boland and Fr Eugene Boland.
“This God is a God of mercy and love because all of us have sinned greatly and Pearse was no exception,” Fr Declan said.
“Let us not forget that Pearse was a father, a brother, a partner and a friend of many. His loss is being felt deeply for those who love him.”
McAuley’s first spell in jail was in 1991 where he was held on remand in connection with a plot to kill brewing chairman Sir Charles Tidbury. He escaped Brixton Prison along with Nessan Quinlivan and was out on bail when he and three others shot Det Gda McCabe dead and seriously injured Det Gda Ben O’Sullivan during a botched post office raid on June 7th, 1996.
McAuley’s friend Damien Gallagher said there was a difference between “Pearse the person and Pearse the past”.
[ Pearse McAuley: Garda killer and notorious IRA terroristOpens in new window ]
McAuley was an “educator, a philosopher and a deeply sincere man. There are just as many of us who knew a man of compassion and warmth and hope. These particular words were echoed by his friends throughout the last few days as people called to say their final farewells,” he said.
He was particularly affected by the fate of Palestinians in Gaza which “saddened him deeply”, Mr Gallagher added.
After the funeral service, his coffin was draped in the Tricolour and carried the short journey to Strabane Cemetery, which is up a steep hill and overlooks the town. Members of Cairde Strabane, a republican ex-prisoners group, escorted his coffin to its final resting place.
A pair of black gloves placed on the coffin were removed as it was lowered into the ground. A police helicopter buzzed overhead and a PSNI squad car kept a discreet distance.
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