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Detective Garda Colm Horkan. Garda Press Office

Parish priest: Colleagues of Detective Colm Horkan prayed around him after he died

Detective Garda Colm Horkan was shot dead in the early hours of this morning.

THE COLLEAGUES OF Detective Garda Colm Horkan prayed around his body as the local priest attended the scene, it has emerged. 

Parish priest John McManus described how he was called shortly after midnight and asked to come down to the scene where Detective Horkan was shot a number times just a few hundred metres from the church in Castlerea, Roscommon. 

The Garda had called for assistance just moments before he was shot dead by his own garda-issued firearm. 

Another squad car which was responding to a different call came upon the scene almost immediately after the shooting.

The officers in the car arrested a man in his 40s and paramedics were then on the scene within several minutes. Unfortunately, they could not save the garda’s life. 

Fr McManus described a “poignant moment” at the scene.

He told TheJournal.ie: “I was called around midnight and it was my job to anoint Colm who had sadly died. There was a poignant moment towards the end. There was this eerie and stunned silence. His colleagues then joined in his final prayers and we remained with him then. 

“Castlerea is a small community: it wouldn’t be used to incidents like these. Yet it is 40 years this year that two gardaí from the station died in the line of duty – Henry Byrne and John Morley.

“We had organised a memorial for them in July so it’s coming back to a lot more senior citizens who would have been around at that time. It’s an incident, a tragedy that has deeply affected the community. We are thinking of his family, friends and garda colleagues and we want to let them know they’re not forgotten.”

Detective Horkan was 49 years old and had been living with his father in Charlestown in Mayo.

He was heavily involved in Charlestown GAA and was a very popular man, whose good nature and love for football was infectious, according to locals who spoke to this website in the town today. 

One man has been arrested in connection with the investigation and is currently being detained in Castlerea Garda Station. 

Speaking in the town this afternoon Garda Commissioner Drew Harris condemned the shooting and appealed for anyone with information to come forward.   

The 40th anniversary of the shootings of Detective Garda John Morley and Garda Henry Byrne, who were murdered after a bank robbery in Ballaghadreen, will be marked on 7 July this year.           

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    Mute Eamonn Ó'Tíghearnáin
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    Feb 18th 2013, 8:07 AM

    Ironically, this has also made the news on bbc.co.uk

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    Mute Ciaran Morgan
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    Feb 18th 2013, 8:25 AM

    Meanwhile back in rte the gravy train rolls on!

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    Mute Slap'stick Ireland
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    Feb 18th 2013, 9:56 AM

    Any chance RTE journalists might go on strik, for a few years.

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    Mute mattoid
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    Feb 18th 2013, 8:24 AM

    @Eamonn & Paddy
    I’m confused now – is it on the BBC website or not? ;-)

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    Mute Paddy O'Reilly
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    Feb 18th 2013, 8:43 AM

    OK it’s there now, but I wasn’t when I checked half an hour ago http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21495821

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    Mute Paddy O'Reilly
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    Feb 18th 2013, 8:03 AM

    Unsurprisingly this story doesn’t appear on Auntie’s own website.

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    Mute Republic Of Zen
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    Feb 18th 2013, 9:24 AM

    Fire the ones that strike. Bam. Problem solved.

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    Mute Strongbow63
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    Feb 18th 2013, 1:24 PM

    Spoken like a true capitalist.

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    Mute bacoxy
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    Feb 18th 2013, 8:07 AM

    No news is good news they say…

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    Mute David Walls
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    Mar 20th 2013, 2:21 AM

    Well it seems you got there before me, only because I read it later!!

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    Mute Waffler Towers
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    Feb 18th 2013, 9:46 AM

    Redeploy them to RTE

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    Mute Joe O Connor
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    Feb 18th 2013, 10:40 AM

    It’s not like we’re talking Gardai or Nurses here is it? Journalists I’m afraid will never get my sympathy vote.

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    Mute vv7k7Z3c
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    Feb 18th 2013, 10:50 AM

    Thanks a lot Joe :)

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    Mute Joe O Connor
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    Feb 18th 2013, 10:56 AM

    Sorry Michelle. Nothing personal. And if I really did have a downer on journalists I’d hardly be reading this page now would I? God bless and Good luck!

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    Mute vv7k7Z3c
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    Feb 18th 2013, 11:08 AM

    No worries, we know you love us really.

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    Mute Emily Elephant
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    Feb 18th 2013, 11:53 AM

    Let’s all hope the BBC Asian Network survives this calamity. Imagine a world without it!

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    Mute Gary Mason™
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    Feb 18th 2013, 12:19 PM

    Anyone with a twitter account seems to think they are a journalist these days, copy & paste

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    Mute David Walls
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    Mar 20th 2013, 2:19 AM

    No news is good news!!

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