Barr Tribunal

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Justice Robert Barr's chairing of the Tribunal of Inquiry into the death of John Carthy endured many threats to its existence in its three-and-a-half years. It was marked by his fearless criticism of senior gardaí and most of the main media organisations in Ireland over their treatment of John Carthy and his family.

The Barr Tribunal was a Public Inquiry established by Resolutions passed by the Dáil Éireann and the Seanad Éireann on the 17th and 18th April 2002, and by Instrument entitled Tribunals of Inquiry Evidence Acts 1921 (Establishment of Tribunal) Instrument (No. 2) 2002 made by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform on 1st July 2002. The sole member of the Tribunal was Mr Justice Robert Barr. The Tribunal was charged with investigating 'the facts and circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting of John Carthy (by members of An Garda Síochána) at Abbeylara, County Longford on 20th April, 2000'.

The Tribunal reported its findings on 20 July 2006 in a 740 page report following four years of investigations at a cost of €18 million.

It concluded that there were many mistakes made by the Gardaí on the scene, but that it was not an unlawful killing. It recommended many changes to training and procedures for sieges and negotiations to prevent similar occurrences.