Killed: Father-of-three Tony Golden was gunned down by a suspected IRA man while trying to break up a domestic dispute
An unarmed garda was last night shot dead by an IRA suspect out on bail – who turned the gun on his girlfriend and on himself.
Father-of-three Garda Tony Golden was responding to a domestic dispute in Omeath, Co. Louth at 6pm yesterday when Adrian Crevan Mackin pulled a gun and killed him.
The garda had gone to the aid of Mackin’s girlfriend Siobhán Phillips, who was then shot by the 24-year-old killer.She was las t night fighting for her life.
‘It is touch and go whether she will survive the night,’ said a source.
The highly-regarded garda had travelled to the home Mackin’ shared with Ms Phillips, in Omeath, after members of her family went to Dundalk Garda station to report their fears that her partner was ‘violent and going to harm her’.
A senior source explained: ‘Officer Golden, a great family man and dedicated officer, decided to go to the house after Ms Phillips' family expressed concern about her safety with Mr Mackin.
'He went on his own. Ideally another officer should have gone with him but there was no one else available.’
In January, Mackin was charged with membership of an unlawful organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army. He was later granted bail and appeared in court again last week in connection with the charge.
And when Garda Golden arrived at his home yesterday, the IRA suspect was armed with a handgun.
A source said: ‘This guy Mackin was a Provo and out on bail. His cold blooded murder of Garda Golden was not linked to paramilitary activity in any way.
'He seems to have lost it completely during a row with his girlfriend and went on a shooting spree when the Garda arrived to try and diffuse the situation.’
Killer: Adrian Crevan Mackin (right), a 24-year-old on bail for alleged IRA membership, pulled a handgun on the officer. He also shot girlfriend Siobhan Phillips (left), with whom he was fighting when Garda Golden arrived
Officers in Dundalk are ‘stunned’ by the murder of the garda in the line of duty. Garda Golden was married to Nicola O’Sullivan.
This is the second recent tragedy in which a Garda in Co. Louth has been shot dead. Garda Adrain Donohoe was fatally injured in January 2013 when responding to an armed robbery at a credit union.
A source said last night: ‘Ideally, two officers should have been going to the scene where there is a domestic dispute but it is not always the case that two officers are available so Garda Tony Golden went alone to the scene. No one could have predicted this would happen.’
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