Jerry McCabe - Aftermath

Aftermath

Up to 50,000 people lined the streets of Limerick city for Jerry McCabe's funeral.

The killing of Detective McCabe happened four months after the breakdown of the first IRA ceasefire in 1996. The Army Council of the IRA initially denied involvement, but later admitted that individual members were involved "in contravention of its orders". Later Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams would state that the operation was "not authorised by the Army Council, but authorised at a lower level by an authorised person". Initially, the killing was denounced by the leadership of Sinn Féin, but later the party lobbied for the early release of McCabe's killers under the terms of the Belfast Agreement. In 2005, the prisoners stated that they did not want their release "to be part of any further negotiations with the Irish government."

Pearse McAuley from Strabane and three County Limerick men – Jeremiah Sheehy, Michael O’Neill and Kevin Walsh – were convicted by the non-jury Special Criminal Court of manslaughter. McAuley had escaped from Brixton Prison in 1991 while awaiting prosecution over an IRA campaign in England and had jumped bail in the Republic of Ireland two months before the shooting. O'Neill was released from prison on 15 May 2007 with Sheehy released on 4 February 2008. Walshe and McAuley were released on 5 August 2009 after completing their full sentence. Sinn Féin had campaigned for their release under the Good Friday Agreement despite the Irish Government's insistence that these prisoners were excluded during the negotiations for the treaty. The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland accused the Irish government of "double standards" by not granting those responsible for the killing early release, as part of the Good Friday Agreement.

Detective Garda Jerry McCabe's widow Anne has been praised for the way she conducted herself since the shooting. In New York in 2006, she challenged Gerry Adams as to why his organisation was calling for the release of the men convicted of the killing. In 2000, she was presented with a Gold Scott Medal. The Scott Medal is the highest honour bestowed by the Republic of Ireland on a Garda who has shown exceptional courage and heroism risking their lives in their work as police officers.