The peaceful resolution of the Cavan siege represents a notable success for the Garda and the praise given to all concerned by the Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, is well deserved. The difficulties which the gardai faced in Bawnboy and the potential for violence and tragedy at the scene should not be underestimated. Mr Gerrit Isenborger represented a well armed and unpredictable threat. But in a striking parallel with the events in Mountjoy earlier this month, good advance planning and good judgment again paid dividends.
The gardai who were charged with the task of managing the siege faced a number of considerable difficulties. There was a real danger that Mr Isenborger might have tried to break out of the blockade around the house. There was concern that he had the skill and the military training to fire on a target up to half a mile away. Mr Isenborger's own volatile state of mind must also have given cause for concern; he was deeply depressed by the death of his mother. There were other difficulties; the lack of local knowledge meant that gardai were unable to build up a strong psychological profile of Mr Isenborger. And the Garda had little in the way of experience to guide them. The last comparable case - involving Eddie Gallagher at Monasterevan - was some twenty two years ago.
In dealing with the Bawnboy siege, the gardai handled the issue with sensitivity from the outset. The possibility of any forceful intervention was not aired at any stage. Instead, there was a careful, reassuring emphasis on the widespread local sympathy for Mr Isenborger and on the gardai's readiness to help him, should he surrender. The principal Garda negotiators - Superintendent Bill Somers and Inspector Tighe Foley - and those who had the foresight to give members of the force special training in hostage management, deserve special commendation.
The outstanding issue now is how someone like Mr Isenborger, who was granted a firearms certificate for a rifle, also managed to assemble a small armoury of other weapons. This is despite gun laws in this State which even after Dunblane are much more strict than in the United Kingdom. It may be that the existing laws, which date back to the mid Seventies, may need to be more strictly enforced by the Garda. A review of policy might also include an examination of how to identify disturbed individuals who should not be trusted with weapons of any kind.
On a more general level, the successful conclusion of the siege will act as a fillip to Garda morale. In recent years it has been sapped by the force's patchy record in respect of serious crime. But there is the strong sense that the new Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, has helped to reinvigorate the force. The success of the investigation into organised crime in Dublin is one encouraging sign; events in Cavan yesterday, provide another.