Terrorist, garda killer and prolific wife beater, Pearse McCauley’s long litany of convictions established him as one of Ireland’s most dangerous criminals for over 30 years.
The IRA man made the headlines in the early 1990s for a daring escape from an English prison, but his crimes against the Irish state, specifically the shooting of a garda in 1996, would wrap his name in infamy among Irish criminal history.
McCauley was part of a team that murdered Detective Garda Jerry McCabe. The garda was shot at point-blank range by an AK-47 in an attack by the Provisional IRA on June 7, 1996, outside Adare Post Office. McCabe’s colleague, Detective Garda Ben O'Sullivan, was seriously injured in the attack.
Prison sentences were later handed down to McCauley, Michael O'Neill, Jeremiah Sheehy and Kevin Walsh after pleading guilty to Gda McCabe’s manslaughter at the Special Criminal Court.
McAuley was sentenced to 14 years in February 1999 but was released from Castlerea Prison in August 2009. There had been strong calls from those within Sinn Féin for the men to be released earlier under the Good Friday Agreement.
The eventual release of McCauley and Walsh sparked controversy in Kerry when then sitting Sinn Féin TD Martin Ferris greeted them at the gates of the prison before driving them in a Ford Transit van to meet their families.
Although McCauley’s release was welcomed by republicans in 2009, he was shunned in December 2015 when he was handed a 12-year sentence for a “frenzied attack” on his then wife Pauline Tully – now a Sinn Féin TD – at their home in 2014. McCauley stabbed Ms Tully 13 times in the attack. He walked free in 2022 after serving his prison term.
McCauley died alone in Strabane from a suspected heart attack.
Tabitha Monahan is joined by Allison Morris, crime correspondent with The Belfast Telegraph, to discuss the life and crimes of one of Ireland’s most violent terrorists, and whether Sinn Féin can ever escape their links to figures within the republican movement.
by Gazmac_868855