Evidence indicated Carthy 'was not amenable to persuasion'

Barr Tribunal: There was nothing the gardaí or other intermediaries at the Abbeylara siege could have done to stop Mr John Carthy leaving his house armed with a shotgun, counsel for the Garda Commissioner has told the tribunal.

In his final submission to the tribunal, Mr Diarmuid McGuinness said the evidence of the expert witnesses given earlier to the tribunal and the evidence of what happened at the scene indicated Mr Carthy "was not amenable to persuasion".

Mr Carthy was shot dead outside his home in Abbeylara, Co Longford, in April 2000, following a 25-hour armed stand-off with gardaí. "A negotiated resolution was the only hope of a peaceful outcome", and the gardaí "could not leave a mentally-ill and armed man positioned where there was no contact with him, particularly given the evident dangers to Mr Carthy himself", Mr McGuinness said.

However, the mental state of the 27-year-old, who suffered from bipolar disorder, had deteriorated to such a degree that he could not respond reasonably to negotiations. "In reality there was nothing that could have been done to stop Mr Carthy deciding to leave his house armed with his shotgun," McGuinness said.

Mr Carthy would not negotiate with the gardaí by telephone or by loudhailer and did not respond positively to any third party intermediaries introduced by the gardaí.

He pointed his gun in the direction of his cousin, Mr Tom Walsh, when he was brought to the scene; he shouted abuse at the mention of his mother; he fired a shot at the mention of his GP, Dr Patrick Cullen; he laughed when his psychiatrist, Dr David Shanley, was mentioned; he fired one shot when his sister Marie was mentioned and another when he was told she was at the scene, Mr McGuinness said.

"It is submitted evidence from, not merely the Garda witnesses, but also those non-Garda witnesses, that Mr Carthy simply didn't engage and either wouldn't or couldn't engage, for whatever reason."

Dr John Sheehan, a consultant psychiatrist at Mater Hospital, Dublin, had told the tribunal Mr Carthy was very seriously mentally-ill and this was a major reason the situation could not have been brought to a controlled and safe conclusion, Mr McGuinness said.