Policeman PJ Morrissey, killed by the INLA as he tried to stop a robbery, remembered on 40th anniversary of his death
Garda PJ Morrissey, murdered by republican paramilitaries as he tried to stop a robbery, has been remembered by a victims group on the 40th anniversary of his death.
Brutally shot in the head, execution-style, after he’d been wounded by armed INLA thugs fleeing with thousands of pounds they’d stolen from a Labour Exchange, Patrick Joseph Morrissey’s death on June 27, 1985, shocked Ireland on both sides of the border.
His killers, two men from Co Armagh, were handed the last death sentences in the Republic’s history – though neither was carried out, as they were commuted to 40-year prison stretches.
With a mass marking the anniversary on Saturday (28th), his widow and children have joined victims’ group SEFF in mourning a man they remember as “a devoted husband and father and provider for our family”.
On the day of his death, Co Louth-based Sgt Morrissey was on his way to a court sitting in Ardee when he got word of a raid on the town’s employment exchange, in which two men had stolen £25,000 before fleeing.
The INLA pair were forced to abandon their getaway vehicle and Sgt Morrissey caught up with them in the grounds of a large country house.
Alone and unarmed, he bravely tried to apprehend the raiders when shots rang out, grievously wounding him. As he lay injured and unable to move, one of the INLA thugs stood over him and fired point-blank into his head, killing the 49-year-old garda.
His family – wife, four children who were then aged 12 to 19, and brother – now speak of the “profound loss” they have felt for the last four decades.
In a statement, they said: “We knew him as a giant of kindness and strength, and someone who belonged strongly in fairness and in giving people chances to rectify their lives – he believed strongly in the power of humanity and common decency.
"His former colleagues in the Garda Sub Aqua Unit, in Collon Garda station and the other stations where he was posted and in the Garda Choir have paid many heartfelt tributes throughout the years since 1985 - they most certainly have never forgotten him, nor us as a family.
“[Tomorrow] marks the 40-year anniversary in remembering PJ, who was ultimately a guardian of the peace, a guardian of the community, a family man and a good friend to so many. He was perhaps most at home in the garden, or on the River Erne or River Boyne, diving, fishing or swimming in the water.
"In the 40 years that have passed he has been remembered with profound loss by our family, and with high regard and warmth by friends and former colleagues.”
Sgt Morrissey features on one of series of quilts honouring innocent victims of the Troubles put together by the South East Fermanagh Foundation (SEFF) this year, some of which will be displayed in a museum in his hometown Belturbet, after Saturday’s mass.
Said the family: “The quilt which remembers PJ shows a diver wearing fins, in the water and surrounded by musical notes. This humanised and speaks to the wider man he was, beyond his role as a Garda Officer.
"Our family wish to thank all who have shown so much support and kindness in the last 40 years.”
SEFF director Kenny Donaldson said the 1985 killing shocked and appalled the entire island.
“Despite what they have been subjected to, the Morrissey family have sought to live their lives in a manner bringing honour to his memory. They represent the values of fairness, respect and commitment to service which PJ's life reflected,” he said.