Dermot Horkan recalls getting the call at around midnight on 17 June 2020. His brother Colm, a detective garda, stationed in Castlerea, had been shot.
"That last thing you want is getting that call. It came to my house, and I had to tell the rest of the family," he said.
Initially, Dermot explains, he didn't realise how serious it was and he left for Castlerea, a half an hour from his home in Charlestown, Co Mayo.
When he arrived, it was clear something terrible had happened.
"To see the guards and them crying, they were heartbroken," he said.
"And then they had to continue on with their job and start into a crime scene. It was so hard".
A trial would later reveal that Detective Garda Colm Horkan was shot 11 times with his own gun by Stephen Silver, a 46-year-old Roscommon man, who was living in Foxford.
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"You were hearing stuff and you thought you were prepared for it and then you hear it in the flesh, and it was harrowing and heartbreaking. We hadn't heard the quantity of shots, that was tough," says Dermot.
"It was harrowing, there's a lot of stuff that came out in the trial that we didn't know, that they had to keep close to their chests," says his brother Brendan.
"When you are hearing that, it's fairly harrowing. It's hard sitting through it every day."
Watch: 'It's been a tough three years' - Colm Horkan's father
Silver sentenced to 40 years for murder of Garda Horkan
A jury at the first trial last November failed to reach a verdict and so the Horkan family had to endure a second trial which began in February.
"After the first trial we had geared ourselves up for the hope of a verdict, no matter what it would be, just so we could get closure on the trial. We hoped for capital murder because we felt that's the justice that was deserved," says Brendan.
"If it had been anything else, down the line you are thinking, especially for me and my kids, in 15- or 20-years' time, is this fella going to be out? Are they going to run into him? Are we going to run into him?
"You are hoping that wouldn't happen, I think thankfully the jury has seen to that now. It's definitely something that's on your mind. It's not something you want to give a lot of time to, and you want to put it behind you but it's definitely there," he adds.
The Horkan family attended court every day. They were supported by relatives, friends from Charlestown and beyond as well as Colm's garda colleagues. When news of the verdict came through, there was huge relief.
"Thank God we got justice. It was a great relief to my Dad and to all of us," says Dermot.
For the family, the last three years have been hard. Special occasions make their loss even harder.
"Christmas, birthdays, any of these occasions, they are all tinged with sadness. In my house, like in all our houses, there's pictures of Colm and every day you look at them, you think, it shouldn't have happened," says Brendan.
"You think what could have been. You think of occasions he won't be at. One of his godsons is getting married in a few months and he won't be there. Things like that, it's definitely hard'
"Christmas is hard. Growing up, Colm bought the best presents. Christmas was his time. The kids loved him for that. He was mighty for the big occasion, he really was," says Dermot.
While there is great sadness around Colm Horkan's death, there is great pride in him and it was evident from the tributes paid to him following his death, that he was loved as a son, a brother, a friend and a colleague.
"He was a good man, he was definitely a good man and everything that has been said about him is true," says Brendan.
"He was meticulous in everything he did. He was good at school; he was a very good footballer. He was meticulous in the way he dressed, meticulous in how he kept his car and meticulous in the way he did his job.
"He would put his heart and soul into everything, and he expected that of people around him as well," he adds.
"I know for a fact, everything Colm did was by the book. There was no way that he came to that scene that night looking for anything other than to see what was going on and perform his duties.
"He was the typical big brother. He led the way and if anything was going wrong, he had your back at all times," he says.
Except of course, if you weren't obeying the law.
A broad smile breaks out across Dermot's face when recalls a time when Colm pulled him up on having no car tax.
"I remember one time myself and Aidan, my other brother, had two vans. We were working for the same company. We had two silver vans. Aidan borrowed mine one day because it had a tow bar, and he was going off somewhere with a trailer," he explains.
"Aidan's van had no tax and he left it the drive and when I came to get Aidan's van to go home, I found a sticky note on the steering wheel and Colm had written, 'If I met you on the road with this van you'd be walking'," Dermot says.
"I sent him a message, 'right man, wrong van'," he laughs.
"He was unique. Colm was unique and he's sadly missed. Even around the town, the younger people had such time for him. He had a word for everyone," Dermot says.
"When you go to the grave, you meet the young kiddies flying through on their bikes and they stop at his grave on their way home from the playground and it's remarkable to see that. He's left a legacy, he really has."
In the hours, days, weeks and months after Colm's murder, the family received huge support. They want to thank people for visiting, writing letters and saying prayers. Even to this day they say people still stop and sympathise.
"All the calls, messages, letters and mass cards from the four corners of the country and beyond. It was unbelievable. All the books of condolences in every garda station. Dad read each and every one of them and every card. It was unbelievable," says Dermot.
"It's almost three years down the line but people still sympathise with us. It just shows you what people thought of him."
Brendan adds: "The support we got was unbelievable, from all walks of life and in our community, the way they rallied around. The number of letters and cards that came to the house, it's some comfort."
Behind closed doors, the family admit it's hard to accept that Colm is gone.
"People keep you going but when you go home, it's hard. Dad and Deirdre (Colm's sister) are at home. Colm lived there. When you close the door, it can be be hard," says Dermot.
"You look at the photos in the house and you say its senseless and it shouldn't have happened.
"We have to try and get through it, as hard as it is and it has been hard. It's been devastating for the family," he says.
The family say they are grateful to the legal team and the gardaí who worked on the case.
"They wanted justice as much we did. He was part of their family as well," says Brendan
"The likes of Chief Superintendent Ray McMahon, Superintendent Tom Colsh, Superintendent Goretti Sheridan and Detective Inspector John Costello, the legal team as well, they stuck with it. For all of them, they all said it was personal, that justice had to be done," he adds.
As Stephen Silver is sentenced to a minimum of 40 years in prison, the Horkan family say they are relieved justice has been done.
"You close the book on that part but it's not going away. It doesn't change what happened to us, but Colm got the justice he believed in and he deserved and that's as much as it can be".
Colm Horkan spent almost 25 years as a garda, having graduated on 28 September 1995.
He was the 89th garda to be killed in the line of duty since the foundation of An Garda Síochána over 100 years ago - a guardian of the peace who made the ultimate sacrifice protecting the people he loved.
