RUC widows are backing the wife of slain Detective Garda Jerry McCabe in her campaign to keep his IRA killers behind bars. Only days after Sinn Féin stepped up its campaign to have the men set free, chairwoman of the RUC Widows' Association Iona Meyers said she "backed Anne McCabe 100%" in her bid to prevent their early release.
Mrs Meyers said she believed the McCabe killers, currently being held in Castlerea Prison in Co Roscommon, should serve their sentences in full.
In 1990 her 34-year-old husband Gary, an RUC constable, was shot dead by the IRA in Belfast. No-one was ever convicted of his murder.
Under the Good Friday Agreement, paramilitaries convicted of killing both RUC officers and gardai have been freed.
Garda McCabe was killed in a botched robbery in Adare, Co Limerick, almost seven years ago. The IRA initially denied involvement in the incident and the Irish government has said the case does not fall within the terms of the agreement.
But this decision has prompted accusations from unionists and republicans that it is failing to act with consistency.
Mrs Meyers, whose group first wrote to Mrs McCabe immediately after her husband was shot dead, has said she feels a "great deal of sympathy and support" for the Limerick widow.
Her statement of support comes as Sinn Féin steps up its campaign to free the five men jailed after the case. Kerry North TD Martin Ferris, who was in the High Court in Dublin last week when two members of the gang failed in their latest bid for release, told his party's weekend ard fheis that the Irish government was obliged to release the men under the 1998 peace agreement. The party also called on its members to wear ribbons demonstrating their support for the early release of the 'Castlerea five'.
But last night (Tuesday) Anne McCabe welcomed Mrs Meyers' comments, and said she remained confident that the five would not be freed.
Mrs McCabe described the RUC widow's comments as a "great boost", adding: "I have met many RUC widows through the Irish Peace Institute and spoken to them about what happened to Jerry. They understand, and I have their support, as they would have mine."
The mother-of-five slammed Sinn Féin and party president Gerry Adams for the continued efforts on behalf of the 'Castlerea five.'
"After Jerry was killed Gerry Adams issued a statement saying that the IRA was not responsible for what happened so I can't understand why he and all the rest of Sinn Féin/IRA continue to look for the release of Jerry's killers," she said.
In the High Court last week Justice Michael Peart ruled, however, that there was no obligation on Justice Minister Michael McDowell to consider the men for release under the Good Friday Agreement.
