Former Garda revisits spot where he escaped death by less than an inch in notorious shoot-out

This is the moment a former Garda revisited the spot where he escaped death by less than an inch in a notorious shoot-out – for the first time in 41 years.

“It was just the luck of God we survived,” Eugene O’Sullivan told The Irish Mirror as he stood where an IRA gunman unleashed a volley of bullets from an assault rifle at him and his colleagues on December 16, 1983.

It was the first time the former Special Branch detective had visited the spot at Derrada Wood, outside Ballinamore in Co Leitrim, where he survived coming face to face with an IRA gang – but recruit Garda Gary Sheehan and Army Private Patrick Kelly were shot dead.

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The men were murdered on December 16, 1983 as they tried to rescue IRA kidnap victim Don Tidey – and Mr O’Sullivan revisited the scene for the first time on Monday as a special memorial to the two men was unveiled outside the village’s Garda station.

Mr O’Sullivan was in the then Garda Special Task Force, the forerunner of the Emergency Response Unit, when the IRA gang that had just killed the trainee Garda and soldier approached the roadblock he was manning – and opened fire. He had to dive for cover as an IRA man shot at them – and one of the bullets missed him by less than an inch.

Speaking as he visited the scene for the first time, Mr O’Sullivan told us: “The bullet just went by my ear. I can still feel the whizz of the bullet as it went by. It could have been much worse, there could have been total carnage here. Myself and some other colleagues, we were very lucky to survive – it was just the luck of God we survived.”

He also told us he still remembers the sensation of being shot at – 41 years later. He said: “The bullets went everywhere. We hit the ground for cover and we returned fire from there. A guy gets out and just opens up. Survival, I suppose, is the instinct that kicks in. You hit the ground, make yourself as small as possible. As they say, cover, crawl, observe and fire. Get down, save yourself first before you can return fire.”

Mr O’Sullivan also spoke of his emotion at revisiting the scene for the first time since the tragedy that shocked the nation. He said: “It’s very nostalgic, it brings it all back really. I always wanted to come back and see the location where it happened.”

When asked what his emotions were, Mr O’Sullivan replied: “Always feelings of sadness for the lives that were lost, that is the overwhelming memory of it. Two good servants of the State, who should have lived long and fulfilling lives and careers in the Army and An Garda Síochána cut down for what? For criminal activity. It’s always there. It has never gone away. There is never a day when I don’t think of Gary Sheehan and Patrick Kelly.

“It is emotional. You think of the lives they could have lived for the last 40 years. They were two outstanding servants of the State in An Garda Síochána and Oglaigh na hÉireann, the real Oglaigh na hÉireann, not the Provo pretenders.”

Mr O’Sullivan was speaking minutes after Garda Commissioner Drew Harris formally unveiled the monument to the two men outside Ballinamore Garda Station. Mr Harris told hundreds of guests at the ceremony: “They paid an eternal price, and so it is right and just that their memories are eternally recognised here in Ballinamore.”

The Commissioner added: “Today we unveil a specially-designed monument of remembrance to these fallen heroes. Today we honour their service to their country. Today we pay tribute to their bravery and courage. Today their sacrifice is etched in stone, just as their loss is etched in our hearts and minds.”

And Brigadier-General Rossa Mulcahy, the assistant chief of staff of the Defence Forces, also paid tribute to the men, who died freeing businessman Mr Tidey after he was held captive by the IRA gang for 23 days and who are memorialised in the special sculpture.

The design of the memorial portrays two standing stones set beside each other. The stones represent the two pillars of society, the Gardaí and the Defence Forces. The circular hole in the centre of the monument represents the hollow void left in the families’ lives following the death of their loved ones.

Brig-Gen Mulcahy said: “The ripples in the stone beside me continue to spread out and are very evocative of what we are here today to remember. The families have demonstrated remarkable resilience since 1983. In the tradition of remembrance, we continue to honour the memories of Garda Gary Sheehan and Private Patrick Kelly.”

Private Kelly’s son David, himself a former member of the Defence Forces, also attended the ceremony. He said afterwards: “This is deeply significant for us as a family. Forty one years to the day, we have come back to the place where my father was killed in active service to see him remembered by the local community by his colleagues in Oglaigh na hÉireann, by An Garda Síochána, by the minister representing the government. To see them get recognition in the area where it happened is very important to us as a family.”

No one was ever convicted for the men’s murders.

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