Irish State Apologises to Family of Prison Officer Brian Stack, Killed by IRA in 1983

In 1983, Brian Stack was crossing a street in Dublin after leaving a boxing match when someone shot him in the back of the neck. He was left paralysed and died 18 months later, aged 49. On Wednesday, in the Dáil, the Irish state apologised to his family for the way his killing was investigated.

Stack was chief prison officer at Portlaoise Prison, the high-security jail, and a father of three. Three separate garda investigations looked into his death. No one was ever brought to justice. His wife Sheila and their sons Austin, Kieran and Oliver sat in the chamber as the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, spoke on behalf of the state. Earlier, the family had met privately with Martin and Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan at government buildings.

Martin set out the failings one by one. A review by the Garda Serious Crime Review Team, directed by the Garda Commissioner in 2007, made more than 200 recommendations and found serious failings and shortcomings in management of the original investigation. A map of the crime scene was not kept. A motorbike helmet found near the scene and linked to the crime was not kept. Material exhibits, including fingerprints, samples and debris, were not kept in custody. Records did not show whether Stack's colleagues or prisoners at Portlaoise were interviewed. The Stack family and his wider circle of friends were not interviewed at all. "It is plainly and utterly unacceptable," Martin said, that material of potential evidential value can no longer be located by gardaí. He formally apologised for these failings. Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee told the family the state had failed them, said the Provisional IRA had targeted Brian and was responsible, and said she hoped the apology would bring some peace.

Austin Stack told BBC Radio Ulster the apology meant an enormous amount to the family, particularly his mother. He said the state was officially owning up to errors and omissions. He noted that the review team had found 194 errors and omissions in the first investigation. The family has met several justice ministers over the years and asked to see that report, and each time, he said, they were told it was an internally valid document they could not see. He described his father as a man doing a very difficult job at a very difficult time, who received the Irish Prison Service's highest bravery award. The apology, he said, was further vindication of his good name.

The day was also marked by a rift. The Stack brothers left the chamber when Sinn Féin TDs spoke. Outside Leinster House, Austin Stack called on Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald to address the family's concerns. He said the IRA murdered his father, and that the leader of the opposition has consistently said the IRA campaign was justified. She did not come to the chamber, which he said did not respect his family.

McDonald was in Belfast being interviewed by the Police Service of Northern Ireland about protests at Garvaghy Road. She welcomed the apology and said she could only imagine the family's trauma. She pointed to the IRA's acknowledgement of responsibility more than a decade ago, saying it had expressed sorrow and said the killing should not have happened. A Sinn Féin spokesperson said several senior TDs spoke in the Dáil and called her absence regrettable. The party said Stack's killing was wrong, that it welcomed the apology for investigative failures, and that investigating the case is a matter for An Garda Síochána. Donegal TD Pearse Doherty said no apology could restore Stack's life but it could recognise the wrong done.

The IRA admitted killing Stack in 2013, after a long campaign by his family, who met Sinn Féin's Gerry Adams and a former IRA commander. A statement then said the shooting was not authorised by the IRA leadership. Adams expressed regret to the family. Martin, however, said the Provisional IRA is still in possession of all the facts about the case. In 2019 the family received an apology from then Garda Commissioner Drew Harris. In 2023 gardaí told them the file, which had been with the Director of Public Prosecutions, was being returned to police for further investigation.

In the House of Commons, Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant warmly welcomed Dublin's apology, calling it entirely right and proper, and linked it to the week's debate on the UK government's Troubles legacy bill. Stack was the only prison officer in the state killed in violence related to the Troubles. The family's request to see the 194-error report, and the reopened file, are now the tests of whether the apology leads to answers.