Mary Lou McDonald can find justice for murdered Laois prison officer

The campaign for justice for murdered Chief Prison Officer of Portlaoise Prison, Brian Stack, will continue, according to his son, Austin, who will join his mother and two brothers in the Dáil this week, where the family will receive a formal State apology over the mishandling of Garda investigations into his murder by the IRA.

Austin, his mother Sheila and two brothers Kieran and Oliver will be in the public gallery of Dáil Éireann on Wednesday, October 21, where the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, will deliver the apology in relation to the investigations into the killing of the man shot outside the National Stadium in Dublin on March 25 1983. No one has ever been convicted of the attack but the IRA has accepted responsibility.

The family were informed in recent weeks in writing that Mr Martin would acknowledge failures.

“I intend, in my role as Taoiseach, to offer the Stack family a full and unreserved apology on behalf of the State for the failings in the murder investigations of your late father.

“I want to acknowledge the profound pain, frustration, and delay your family has endured over many years. The patience, dignity, and perseverance you and your family have shown is commendable and I sincerely hope the apology will bring a degree of comfort to your mother as she experiences difficult times with ill health.

“My office is currently liaising with officials in the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to finalise arrangements for the presentation of the apology in the Dáil, which is scheduled for 21 October, and my office remains open to you should you wish to raise any concerns.

“I hope this long-overdue apology can bring some level of closure, which you and your family wholeheartedly deserve,” he said.

A statement issued by Mr Stack’s son Austin said the family began working closely with the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O’Callaghan, in relation to this matter after the current Government was formed in 2024.

Mr Stack, himself a former prison officer, spoke to the Leinster Express / Laois Live about what the apology means and why it is being made.

“It brings us a huge degree of comfort because the State is finally accepting and recognising the failings of three separate Garda investigations. The Serious Crime Review Team found that there were 194 errors and omissions in the original investigations.

“For the State to acknowledge that this happened gives us a sense of comfort that the State is stepping up to the mark. It shows an element of leadership on behalf of the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Minister for Justice that this day has finally come,” he said.

Brian Stack’s sacrifice was previously acknowledged with the posthumous awarding of a Prison Service bravery medal. A bronze bust has also been erected in his memory at the Irish Prison Service College in Portlaoise, which is named Brian Stack House.

Mr Stack said it will be an emotional and significant day given the rarity of State apologies.

“It is going to be very emotional but also an important day in that we can’t lose sight of my dad. He was doing a very important and difficult job for the State at a difficult time in its history...This is about him and vindicating his reputation,” he said.

He said the apology will not answer the family’s question as to why a Garda investigation never progressed, and the errors were made.

“We have our own suspicions. We accept that the State and its intelligence services were fighting a war against terrorism and we suspect that some informants may have been involved in the planning and taking part in the attack and that the State was protecting them.

“While the gardaí had duty of care to informants, we would say they had a duty of care to my da,” he said.

Austin travelled with the then Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams to meet a former IRA commander in 2013. Austin and his brother were told that the IRA killed his father, but the killing wasn’t sanctioned by the leadership.

The Stacks have not given up complete hope that those responsible will be convicted. While the family is aware that the Good Friday Agreement means that even if those involved are brought to court, they would not be jailed, he believes Sinn Féin has the information that would cause justice to be served.

“The bottom line is that I wouldn’t hold out much hope of anyone being brought to justice, but for us justice would mean a conviction and somebody is held accountable. That is why I would stress that while the Taoiseach and Tánaiste are showing real leadership, the main opposition party should show political leadership and accept that there are members of their party who played an active role in the sanctioning and planning of this attack,” he said

Calling on Sinn Féin to apologise, Mr Stack said its party leader must go further to help find justice for his father.

“They need to step up to the plate and acknowledge and apologise for their role...Mary Lou McDonald, if she were to take her role as a leader seriously, should ask people within her organisation to go to the gardaí with the information that they have,” he said.

He said the family will have a private meeting with the Taoiseach and Minister for Justice, at noon in Government Buildings prior to the delivery of the apology in Dáil by the Taoiseach at about 1.30 pm. Mr Stack expects the family will speak afterwards.

The former Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris, issued an apology to the family in July 2019 and since then the family have been pressing for a formal State apology.