The family of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe recently marked the 20th anniversary of his killing during an armed raid on a post office van in Adare, Co Limerick.

Members of Detective McCabe’s family and his former colleagues, including  Ben O’Sullivan, who was shot 11 times that day gathered in Adare to mark his anniversary.

Those in attendance laid flowers outside the garda station, which is across the road from the post office where Dectective McCabe was murdered.

Det McCabe’s son John is a serving garda who was on duty covering the same shift as his father that day said

“I actually heard it on the radio first of all, I went up to the patrol room in the station three floors up to contact Limerick because there were no mobile phones back then.I tried a couple of garda stations in Limerick and I couldn’t get through. I eventually got through to Roxboro and the garda on duty told me the news that Dad had been involved, and that was the first I heard of it, and it was a fair shock, obviously.”

Tánaiste and Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald and Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan alos paid there own tributes to mark the anniversary.

Speaking at a ceremony in the Mansion House in Dublin to mark the 20 years of the victims’ support group Support After Homicide, Ms Fitzgerald said she had nothing but praise for the courageous stand that his wife and family have taken since his death and the way they have spoken about the appalling act of brutality.

Commissioner O’Sullivan said that she was very conscious of the anniversary of the death of Det McCabe and the devastation wreaked upon his family and added that unfortunately many garda families had gone through the same experience.