Pearse McAuley Charged
A prominent republican has
been charged in connection with the stabbing of a woman in a Christmas Eve
attack in Co Cavan.
Gardaí on Saturday charged
the man, aged in his 50s, as part of an investigation into the incident which
occurred at a house in Kilnaleck on Wednesday.
Pearse 'Mad-Dog' McAuley pictured in 1991
The man is due to appear
before a special sitting of Cavan District Court Saturday evening at 5pm. The
man was detained at Cavan Garda Station. He remains in custody.
The man, a father of two,
received medical attention in the same hospital where his alleged victim was
gravely ill. He had sustained a facial injury and required treatment for
ongoing health problems.
After his questioning was
suspended to allow him to sleep, a decision was made to transfer him to
hospital for treatment, until he was deemed well enough to be taken back to the
Garda station.
Based on his past history
linked to his time in the Provisional IRA, the suspect is regarded as a flight
risk.
The victim of the attack,
who is in her late 40s and is a mother of two young children is expected to
survive.
Cavan Stabbing
Gardai in Cavan are now
continuing to question Garda McCabe killer Pearse McAuley about the brutal and
horrific stabbing of a young mother of two children in Cavan on Christmas Eve.
Woman Stabbed in Cavan
One of the IRA killers of
Detective Garda Jerry McCabe is under armed guard in hospital as detectives
wait to continue questioning him about a knife attack on his wife.
Pearse McAuley, who is in
his late 40s, was arrested on Christmas Eve after his wife Pauline, a former
Sinn Fein councillor, was stabbed multiple times at the couple's home in
Killnaleck, Co Cavan.
Local sources said that Mrs
McAuley suffered at least 12 serious stab wounds in an ordeal that lasted for
three hours between 11.30am and 2.30pm on Wednesday.
Gardai believe that the
horrific attack was witnessed by the couple's two sons, who are aged seven and
four. Garda sources said the convicted killer was described as being "very
drunk" on Christmas Eve.
It has been five years since
he was released from Castlerea Prison, where he was serving a 14-year sentence
for the manslaughter of Detective Garda McCabe in Adare, Co Limerick, in 1996.
Mrs McAuley, nee Tully,
first met her husband when she was part of a Sinn Fein delegation who were
meeting the garda killers in Castlerea. The couple got married in 2003 while
McAuley was still in prison.
After being stabbed several
times on Wednesday morning, Mrs McAuley managed to escape the house despite her
injuries, and alerted another family member.
At that stage, as gardai
were on their way to the incident, there were unconfirmed reports that another
attempt was then made to attack Mrs McAuley.
Security sources revealed
Mrs McAuley, who remained conscious, suffered two punctured lungs. At one stage
her condition was described as "touch and go".
A source told said:
"She was fighting for her life. She had been stabbed a number of times and
the scene was extremely bloody."
The injured woman underwent
emergency surgery for her injuries and was still being treated in intensive
care where she was expected to undergo further surgery yesterday.
However, it is understood
that her life is no longer in danger and she is expected to make a recovery.
Pearse McAuley, who served
10 years for the manslaughter of Det Garda McCabe, was arrested a short time
later.
The scene at Kilnaleck was
preserved pending a full garda technical examination.
A garda spokesperson
confirmed on Christmas Eve that a suspect was being held at Cavan Garda Station
under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984.
Pearse McAuley's detention
was suspended at midnight on Christmas Eve when he was brought to hospital for
"underlying medical issues" that were not understood to be directly
connected to the incident.
It is understood that he
suffers from diabetes but also sustained a number of injuries, including a
broken nose.
McAuley was under armed
guard in Cavan General Hospital where his wife was being cared for last night.
Last year gardai were called
to a Dublin hotel where Mrs McAuley had allegedly been assaulted by her husband
in a room.
It is understood that
another guest in the hotel heard the commotion and that he was assaulted when
he tried to intervene.
The matter was reported to
the gardai but they could not progress a criminal investigation because no
official complaints were made by Mrs McAuley or the hotel guest who had come to
her rescue.
Mrs McAuley unexpectedly
resigned from local politics in 2012 citing work and family reasons.
Sinn Fein has refused to comment on the latest incident.
However, the party stood by
McAuley during his long years in jail following the killing of Det Gda McCabe.
Sinn Fein leaders claimed
that the killers' release had been included in the Good Friday Agreement.
And at the time of their
release from Castlerea Prison, McAuley and Kevin Walsh were picked up by Sinn
Fein TD Martin Ferris.
McAuley was still wanted in
Britain but the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to pursue him.
Sinn Fein president Gerry
Adams said that McAuley and Walsh, the leaders of the gang, had apologised for
Det Gda McCabe's killing and should have been granted early release under the
Good Friday Agreement.
"In a public statement
some years ago the IRA members convicted in relation to Jerry McCabe's death
and the wounding of Garda Ben O'Sullivan, expressed their deep regret and
apologised for the 'hurt and grief we have caused to their families'," he
said.
"I believe that this
apology was genuine and it echoes the sentiments of republicans
everywhere."
Cavan stabbing, sinn fein, Pearse
mcauley, Gerry Adams TD, Garda Gerry McCabe
