Vincent P Martin (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

On this day 20 years ago, 51-year-old journalist, Martin O'Hagan, lost his life in the most brutal of circumstances. While walking home with his wife, he was shot twice in the back. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter". Among legislators, media participants, and laypeople, a silence pervades about this particular thing that matters. Today, it is compellingly appropriate to mark our appreciation, not just for one journalist, but for freedom of expression and for press freedom. These are vital components of the foundation of our democratic society, which require our vigilance because they are under constant threat from forces which are visible and from forces which are less obvious. Complacency is but one of the less obvious threats to this treasured feature of our society.

The barrister and columnist, Elaine Byrne, said that Martin O’Hagan was a fearless investigative journalist whose love affair with journalism was motivated by a desire to shine a light on the dark corners of organised crime.Fr. Brian Darcy, a colleague of Mr. O'Hagan's at The Sunday World, said at his graveside that, "Martin was gunned down because he got nearer the truth than the rest of us". His killers still walk the streets today. There is a pressing need to reinvestigate his killing. Such a fundamental attack on freedoms should not go unanswered and uninvestigated. We must never give up.