Post-mortem to be carried out later on body of Carlow gunman
A POST-MORTEM examination will be carried out later on the 22-year-old man who died in a shooting incident in Carlow on Sunday.
The body of Evan Fitzgerald was removed from the scene of Fairgreen Shopping Centre in Carlow yesterday and taken to the mortuary in Dublin ahead of today's post-mortem by the State Pathologist.
A technical examination of the car park scene has finished but the scene remains held and the Fairgreen Shopping Centre remains closed.
Yesterday, gardaí began releasing cars from the Shopping Centre car park and access is only granted to people who left a vehicle there.
The scene of the fatality outside the Tesco store was also declared safe yesterday after an examination by Irish army explosives officers.
Gardaí had called the bomb disposal experts to the scene after observing a bottle containing an unknown substance on the body of the dead man.
Advertisement
Gardaí were alerted to the shooting incident in Carlow at around 6.15pm on Sunday, 1 June.
Fitzgerald, originally from Portrushen Upper near Kiltegan, Co Wicklow, was killed by his own firearm and no shots were fired by gardaí.
No one else was injured by any of the shots fired, though a young girl sustained a minor leg injury when she fell while running from the centre.
Fitzgerald had been on bail for serious firearms offences and was before the courts last year when he was charged with offences associated with an assault rifle he bought on the dark web.
He was arrested last year in Co Kildare by specialist gardaí from the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, who were assisted by armed officers from the Emergency Response Unit.
He was set to hear a date for his trial, having appeared before court again last month.
At a previous hearing last year, where Fitzgerald was granted bail with strict conditions, the court was told he had a 'fascination' with firearms but that the interest was more of a hobby rather than a 'nefarious' one.
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
Learn More
Support The Journal

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Irish Times
Two bunches of flowers lie outside Fairgreen Shopping Centre following ‘terrible' fatal shooting
The marks of a concentrated number of shots can be seen in the 'o' of the Tesco sign at Fairgreen Shopping Centre in Co Carlow. Outside the premises, two bunches of flowers have been laid close to where gunman Evan Fitzgerald died on Sunday evening. The busy centre was the scene of chaos and fear, when at 6.15pm, as shoppers filled their trolleys for the week ahead, the 22-year-old, from Kiltegan, Co Wicklow, entered carrying a shotgun. He discharged shots into the air a number of times, causing shoppers to flea. Outside the building, he fatally wounded himself after being challenged by gardaí. No one else was shot during the incident. On Wednesday, Geraldine Nolan (64), who regularly shops at the Tesco, sat in a coffee shop in the centre with her five-month-old grandson on her lap. READ MORE [ Carlow gunman Evan Fitzgerald had bail conditions relaxed prior to trial date Opens in new window ] She was 'shocked' by the 'terrible' events that occurred here days earlier, she says. She is mindful of the effect witnessing the shooting will have on people working in the centre at the time and glad workers and customers were not seriously injured. Her thoughts too are with the deceased, she said, : 'It's hard on his family too.' Her daughter Vanessa (33) is also coming to terms with the shock what occurred in their locality. 'You don't expect something like that to happen in a small town. It's not something that's normalised,' she says. John Brophy, manager of the centre, says uncertainty pervaded in the aftermath of the shooting and it was 'very hard to know what was going on'. However, gardaí, fire services and bomb squad were 'exemplary in the way they conducted themselves over the couple of days', he says. At the time of the incident, Tesco was the only shop still open in the centre, he says. [ Carlow gunman Evan Fitzgerald (22) had 'a fascination with firearms' Opens in new window ] He is mindful that security staff, Tesco employees and customers witnessed the shooting. The deceased young man and his family are also in his thoughts, and he is keen that they are 'respected', he says. Counselling is being provided to the Tesco employees and the centre's security staff. In Carlow town's Primary Care Centre, the Health Service (HSE) has implemented a counselling service for the public to avail of in the aftermath of the event. A HSE representative said the service has been 'busy'.


The Irish Sun
7 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Inside Sunny Jacobs' hellish 17 years on US death row for crime she didn't commit before tragic Irish house fire death
AFTER enduring a hellish 17 years on death row in a Florida prison awaiting execution for a crime she did not commit, Sunny Jacobs found peace in the west of Ireland. But, in a tragic twist, Sonia, alongside her carer Kevin Kelly, sadly perished in a house 5 Sunny was wrongfully convivcted of murdering a cop Credit: Getty 5 Irishman Pringle and Sunny met in New York Credit: Getty The 78-year-old had moved to Ireland a number of years ago with her Irish husband, Peter Pringle, who had also been condemned to death before his conviction was quashed. But Jacobs hailed from across the pond in She spent 17 years of her life on death row in a Sunny, who was 28 at the time, was travelling to Read more in Irish news Her When the couple ran into A shooting incident broke out at the Interstate 95 rest stop where they had stopped, resulting in the deaths of a Florida Highway Patrol trooper and a Canadian Jacobs and Tafero were tried for murder and convicted, with both sentenced to death row. Most read in Irish News Tafero was executed in 1990, but a malfunctioning electric chair meant it took several attempts and 13 minutes to kill him. Jacobs remained in a tiny solitary confinement cell during her time on death row. COPING MECHANISM It was there that the mother-of-two discovered her love of yoga and used it as a coping mechanism. Walter Rhodes, who had been in the back seat of the car, had received a life sentence for testifying against Jacobs and Tafero. He later confessed to the murder although he retracted the admission. Jacobs, meanwhile, was granted a new trial in 1992 after an appeals HOPEFUL LEGACY She entered into what is known as the Alford Plea on two counts of second degree murder. Both Sunny's parents died in a plane crash while she was incarcerated and her daughter Christina was put into foster care. Her son, Eric, who was aged in mid-teens at the time, supported himself with a part time food delivery job while his mum was behind bars. And when Sunny was released from prison in 1992, both her children had grown up. 'CHOICE TO HEAL' On her exoneration, Jacobs became a leading advocate against the death penalty and teamed up with Amnesty International to campaign against it. She lived in Los Angeles for a time and taught yoga, having solidified her love for the And she vowed not to become bitter, opting instead to leave her children with a legacy of hope. In 2006, she said: "It was very important, that choice I made to heal, rather than to spend the gift of a new life that I had looking backwards at the wrongs that were done to me." MEETING PARTNER In 1998, she met Peter Pringle at an Amnesty International Event which called for the sentence to be abolished. Pringle himself had been sentenced to death in Ireland for the murder of gardai John Morley and Henry Byrne during a He was acquitted in 1995 and the pair married in 2012, moving to Connemara in the same year. Jacobs once told The Irish Times : "The stone in the west of Ireland makes me feel grounded; it anchors me.' 'GONE TO BE WITH HER PETER' In 2008, Jacobs published her book, Stolen Time, about her life in prison, which went on the become a bestseller. In 2023, Pringle passed away. Jacobs remained in Connemara until her death just days ago, after which she was remembered as a "hero". One person said: 'Sitting here numb and sad, Sunny Jacobs has gone to be with her Peter Pringle in the afterlife. "What a sad sad day. Until we meet again, One Love Sunny.' And another added: "I am sad to share news of the passing of my dear friend, a true hero and a champion for Justice, Sunny Jacobs.' 5 Sunny and Peter Pringle were married in 2012 Credit: Getty 5 She spent 17 years in prison in Florida Credit: AFP 5 Sunny was killed in a house fire just days ago Credit: gettyimages


Sunday World
8 hours ago
- Sunday World
Pictured: The man Gardaí want to interview over Denis Donaldson murder
Man jailed for plot to kill Johnny Adair and Sam McCrory could hold key to solving 2006 murder This is the man detectives in Donegal want to interview about the murder of Denis Donaldson, the Sunday World can reveal. Antoin Duffy (49) from Mullaghduff, near Kincasslagh, is currently serving a 17-year sentence in Scotland for conspiracy to murder top loyalists Johnny 'Mad Dog' Adair and Sam 'Skelly' McCrory. He is a gifted artist whose paintings reach high-end prices on the Irish art market. However, Duffy and a gang of disparate associates had planned to machine-gun the Belfast men near their homes in Ayrshire. The murder plot was rumbled, however, when MI5 learned that Duffy had purchased a deadly AK47 rifle to use in the double murder mission. The powerful rifle was found hidden among Christmas presents in a house in Paisley and Duffy and his mates were charged with conspiracy to murder. The Sunday World has learned that Duffy now qualifies for parole under Scotland's early prison release scheme. Anton Duffy, pictured being interviewed by police in 2013 over a plot to kill Johnny Adair And he could soon be heading back to Donegal, for questioning in relation to the murder of former IRA man and top Sinn Féin aide Denis Donaldson. The development emerged during a Coroners Court sitting in Letterkenny, when a judge asked a senior Garda officer to account for a lengthy delay in bringing the Donaldson case to court. The officer informed the judge that DNA evidence had been recovered from the Donaldson murder scene, which was found to be a match for an unnamed man, currently serving a lengthy sentence in another jurisdiction. And the officer also revealed Garda detectives were in the process of arranging for this individual to be interviewed in Donegal at the earliest opportunity. Last week, the Sunday World learned Antoin Duffy is now eligible to apply for parole due to having served over half of his 17-year sentence. And we have also learned the Scottish Prison Authorities may object to Duffy's early release, due to his involvement in a number of disruptive incidents. Last Saturday, Johnny Adair, who was targeted in Antoin Duffy's murder conspiracy, said he was aware the Donegal man could soon be applying for parole. He said: 'At this stage, no one knows exactly when Duffy will be applying for parole. But when he does, it's going to be very interesting to see what happens next.' Former UDA boss Johnny Adair. 'I knew nothing about this man until the police picked me out of a line at Glasgow Airport coming back from holiday. 'I was complaining that I was a victim of police harassment, but the detective took me to an office where two MI5 officers were waiting for me. 'The MI5 men explained they had arrested Antoin Duffy from Donegal for conspiracy to murder Skelly and I. 'It made sense because Skelly and I regularly visited a Belfast man who was in jail with Duffy. 'We both gave evidence at his trial and I came away with the impression Duffy was a dangerous individual, who was capable of anything,' said Adair. 'From now on, it's going to be very interesting in regard to Denis Donaldson.' Last week, former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams successfully sued the BBC over a Spotlight programme it made which quoted an unnamed source as saying Adams gave the go-ahead for the murder of Denis Donaldson in 2006. Adams denied any involvement in the Donaldson murder and, in a lengthy five-week libel trial which ended on Friday, he robustly defended his position. Agreeing Adams had been defamed, a jury awarded him £84,000. Outside the court in Dublin on Friday, Adams called on the Irish Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan to meet with the Donaldson family as soon as possible. Former Sinn Féin president, Gerry Adams. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA. He said: 'I am very mindful of the Donaldson family in the course of this long trial and indeed the victims' families who have had to watch all of this. 'I want to say that the Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan should meet the family of Denis Donaldson as quickly as possible and that there's an onus on both governments and everyone else, and I include myself in this, to try and deal with legacy issues as best that we can.' However, Denis Donaldson's daughter Jane hit out at Adams' legal teams' approach to her evidence. In a statement also issued on Friday, Jane Donaldson, who is married to a senior Sinn Féin figure, said: 'Although the plaintiff claimed sympathy for my family, his legal team objected to me giving evidence to challenge the account of his witnesses. Antoin Duffy 'The jury heard sensitive, privileged family information tossed around, without our consent, but did not hear my testimony. 'Limitless legal resources and vast expense were invested in this case, while there is supposedly a live Garda investigation into my daddy's murder.' And calling for a public inquiry into the matter, she added: 'The public interest can now only be fully served by some form of public inquiry with a cross-border dimension which is ECHIR Article 2 compliant, empowered to investigate the whole truth about the conspiracy to expose and murder my daddy.' Jane Donaldson also revealed how she gave evidence, but without the presence of the jury. Denis Donaldson She said the family did not accept the claim of responsibility issued by the Real IRA, three years after her father was murdered. And she insisted that her father had been 'thrown to the wolves' as part of a conspiracy to expose him as an agent. Denis Donaldson and Gerry Adams were among a small group of men who were invited to join the republican movement in the early 1960, shortly after the failure of the IRA's 'Border Campaign'. They were involved in supporting the campaign for Civil Rights. But a major split occurred in the Republican movement, and they both sided with the Provisionals and remained close allies. Denis Donaldson in prison with Bobby Sands in the 1970s At one stage, Donaldson was even asked to go on an IRA trip to meet rogue Arab State leader Muamar Gaddafi. They persuaded the Libyan leader to arm the IRA as it geared up for a war with the British over Northern Ireland. Following the Good Friday Agreement, Donaldson was appointed Head of Administration for Sinn Féin at Stormont. He was arrested as part of a PSNI inquiry into an alleged Sinn Féin spy ring, but the case was later dropped. Weeks later, however, Donaldson fronted a televised press conference, where he admitted having been a long-term British agent operating inside Sinn Féin. And he disappeared without trace. But in March 2006, a Sunday World investigation traced Donaldson to a remote cottage near Glenties in Co. Donegal. And in a secretly recorded interview, Donaldson claimed he had been cast aside by his British paymasters in order to 'save David Trimble', the Unionist First Minister who had signed the Good Friday Agreement, which paved the way for the power-sharing government at Stormont. From the Short Strand in east Belfast, Donaldson was sworn into the IRA at a secret ceremony in Ormeau Park in 1964. And six years later, he took part in the defence of St Matthew's Catholic Church, holding at bay a mob of loyalists who were intent on burning it to the ground. But a Historic Enquiries Team (HET) investigation into the death if Henry McIlhone decades later revealed he hadn't been killed by loyalist gunmen as believed. He had, in fact, been shot dead by Denis Donaldson, who was unable to control a Thompson sub-machine he was firing. In the same incident, Donaldson shot and wounded IRA leader Billy McKee. Speaking to the Sunday World after the report was published, Henry McIhone's widow Sue said: 'I was told lies about this. I only discover the truth when the HET detectives called to see me. 'Henry wasn't a member of the IRA and I was always told he had been shot bt loyalists. I knew nothing about Denis Donaldson.'