Garda Colm Horkan’s family want public inquiry for answers into gun holsters as ‘lives have been nightmare’ since murder

THE heartbroken family of murdered Garda Colm Horkan are calling for a public inquiry into his killing.

The tragic cop’s brother says his family need answers relating to issues relating to alleged faulty gun holster that the detective was wearing when he was killed with his own weapon.

Garda Colm Horkan was murdered in the line of duty in Castlerea, Co Roscommon on June 17, 2020.

Killer Steven Silver took a gun from the garda’s holster and shot him 11 times.

The motorcycle mechanic, who had a history of mental illness, has been jailed for 40 years for the capital murder of Garda Horkan.

Serious questions have been raised about the quality of a batch of gun holsters that were being used by gardai at the time of Garda Horkan’s killing.

Another garda was seriously injured in a separate incident involving one of these allegedly faulty gun holsters just six days before Garda Horkan’s death.

Whistleblowers from within An Garda Siochana claim that senior management were aware of defective leather gun holsters but did not take appropriate action.

Labour TD Alan Kelly has also raised questions in the Dail about the procurement process that led to these allegedly faulty holsters being purchased by An Garda Siochana.

In recent weeks, several garda whistleblowers – including the head of the Garda Protected Disclosures Office Dr Donal Corcoran – have also raised concerns about the handling of protected disclosure reports within the force.

The whistleblowers came forward as part of a documentary by RTE Investigates.

Garda Horkan’s family have this week released a statement to call on the Government to launch a public inquiry into the former detective’s death, as well as the issues surrounding the alleged faulty holsters and whistleblowers.

The family were invited to take part in the RTE documentary, but they declined.

After seeing the programme, the family have decided to reluctantly go public with their call for a full investigation into the issues.

Speaking on Newstalk’s Claire Byrne Show, Garda Horkan’s brother Dermot told how life after Colm’s death has been a “nightmare” for the family as the popular garda is “terribly missed in our home”.

Dermot added that the family want answers to a range of questions that have been raised about the gun holster that Garda Horkan was carrying when his killer accessed his gun and shoot him.

He said: “There seems to be a lot of questions with this holster as we mentioned in our statement through our solicitor Sean Costello.

“We just pointed to a few questions on it like what was the correct procedure for the procurement of the holsters and the acceptable standards and what was the risk and health and safety process that was undertaken.

“These are just some of the questions that we want answered and if there is no cover-up and there is nothing to hide then I can’t see why the Ministers can’t call for a public inquiry just like we asked for.”

Dermot Horkan said the family has spoken to whistleblowers, such as Detective Superintendent Brian O’Reilly, the head of the Garda National Technical Bureau, who previously raised concerns about the alleged faulty gun holsters.

Speaking today, Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly said: “Our thoughts as always are with the Horkan family.

“I will be meeting shortly with the Horkan family on their concerns. A public inquiry is a matter for the Minister.”