John Whelan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I commend the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter, on visiting the Midlands Prison, Portlaoise, on Friday last to attend a long overdue and fitting memorial service for Mr. Brian Stack, at which a bust of the late chief prison officer of Portlaoise Prison was unveiled. Mr. Stack, a serving prison officer, was murdered 30 years ago outside the National Stadium on the South Circular Road. He was gunned down because he showed great diligence and commitment in the conduct of his duty and in protecting the institutions of the State. Private Paddy Kelly, a soldier from Moate, lost his life in 1986 in similar circumstances when he was shot in Derrada Wood as he tried to rescue Don Tidey. I remember with some horror - I was a young teenager at the time - the death of Garda Michael Clerkin from County Monaghan who was lured to his death at a house in Portarlington, County Laois, which was blown up by an indiscriminate booby-trapped bomb.