Programme 1: Sergeant Patrick Morrissey
Monday 19th January 2009
The last two men sentenced to death in Ireland were Noel Callan and Michael McHugh, convicted of the capital murder of Garda Sergeant Paddy Morrissey. Their sentence was communted to 40 years imprisonment without remission. Neither qualify for release under the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement and both remain incarcerated.
RTÉ's Security Correspondent of the day, Tom McCaughren, is unequivocal on the circumstances of Morrissey's death, describing it as 'an execution'.
'Garda ar Lár' opens its second season on January 19th with the story of the brutal slaying of Sgt. Morrissey, unarmed as he pursued Callan and McHugh after the Ardee Employment Exchange robbery in 1985. With unprecedented access to Sgt. Morrissey's family and the Garda colleagues who accompanied him on the day, this is a touching account of one man's bravery in the service of the state, and the price that has been paid ever since by his widow and children, his wider family and his colleagues in uniform.
