The Indo Daily: Lordship: The murder of Adrian Donohoe – Part One

Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe

It was a miserable evening on January 25, 2013 when Detectives Joe Ryan and Adrian Donohoe were tasked with a routine duty - escorting credit union takings across Cooley Peninsula. Starting from Omeath and ending in the quaint village of Lordship, Co Louth, they remained vigilant due to past burglaries.

The cash exchange was made and the convoy of gardaí and volunteers began edging their vehicles towards the exit. Everything was going to plan.

Suddenly, and at speed, a Volkswagen Passat blocked the stone exit of the carpark. It was an ambush. Four men in balaclavas, two of whom were armed, jumped the rear wall of the credit union. The men with guns ran towards the unmarked garda car Adrian Donohoe and Joe Ryan were sitting in.

Det Gda Donohoe, unaware of the imminent danger, stepped out of the vehicle. He was fatally shot in the head from point-blank range. The assailants grabbed the cash and fled towards Carlingford. The whole incident lasted just 58 seconds.

Today on The Indo Daily, Fionnán Sheahan is joined by Irish Independent senior journalist Robin Schiller, and Pat Marry, former senior investigating officer on the Adrian Donohoe case. Both men are co-authors of ‘Murder in Lordship: Inside the Hunt for a Detective’s Killer’. In the first of a two-part special on the 2013 killing of Det Gda Donohoe, they discuss one of Ireland's biggest manhunts, and the years-long detective work that goes into catching a garda killer.