Killer of Limerick Garda Jerry McCabe, Pearse McAuley, found dead

THE KILLER of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe, Pearse McAuley, has been found dead at his home in Strabane in County Tyrone.

Garda McCabe was killed by the IRA in 1996 during the attempted robbery of a post office van in Adare.

Garda McCabe's fellow Detective Garda Ben O'Sullivan was seriously injured in the attack, in which the two Special Branch detectives were rammed and fired upon by the gang.

On the morning of June 7, 1996, Garda McCabe and Garda O'Sullivan were on duty escorting the post office van on its cash delivery to Adare.

Just before 7 am the truck stopped at Adare and the patrol car pulled up close by. 

As the truck driver prepared to unload the mail, a Provisional IRA Unit crashed a jeep at full speed into the rear of the detective’s unmarked patrol car. Within seconds five additional gang members, in another vehicle, arrived at the scene and opened fire on the garda car.

The other men involved were Michael O'Neill, Jeremiah Sheehy and Kevin Walsh.

The four men were convicted of manslaughter in the Special Criminal Court and McAuley was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 1999.

McAuley was found dead at his home in Strabane, County Tyrone, on Monday, March 18.

Last year, Garda McCabe’s widow, Ann McCabe, spoke at a memorial event for her late husband and said her life had “changed in every way” after he was killed, leaving behind five children.

“My husband is dead 27 years now and there isn’t a day goes by that we don’t think about him,” Ms McCabe said at the event.

In 2018, Garda McCabe was post-humorously awarded the Freedom of Limerick, alongside his fellow officer, Garda O’Sullivan.

Garda O’Sullivan passed away at Milford Hospice following a short illness in 2022.

He had survived being shot 11 times during the IRA gun attack on Main Street of Adare town.

In 2021, on the 25th anniversary of his passing, Garda McCabe was honoured by Minister for Justice Heather Humphrey.

Garda widow says she regularly thinks of the day her husband was killed by IRA

In 2015, McAuley was sentenced to 12 years in prison for stabbing his estranged wife, on Christmas Eve in 2014 and was only released from prison two years ago.