Pearse McAuley, the infamous Garda murderer, was given a Republican-style burial in his birthplace of Strabane, Co Tyrone, last Thursday. His funeral service took place in the Church of the Immaculate Conception, a notable location within a largely republican territory, adorned with half-mast tricolours.
Sinn Féin representatives had earlier advocated for his freedom and that of the other three men implicated in the fatal shooting of Det Gda Jerry McCabe in Adare, Co Limerick, in 1996. Yet, prominent members of the political party were conspicuously absent at the service attended by approximately 200 individuals.
The deceased McAuley, 59, was discovered dead in his home on Monday morning. After being discharged from prison, he had relocated to Strabane two years prior. This followed his completion of an eight-year term from a 12-year punishment for a vicious assault on his ex-wife, the existing Sinn Féin TD Pauline Tully, in 2014.
McAuley’s burial ceremony was held in the very church where he was christened soon after his birth in November 1964. A snapshot of his deceased parents, Pearse Snr and Sheila McCauley, and a fishing rod occupied a place on the altar.
The funeral service was jointly officiated by Fr Declan Boland and Fr Eugene Boland. The former reassured the attendees of God’s love and mercy, acknowledging McAuley’s sinfulness but urging remembrance of him as a father, brother, partner, and friend to many.
McAuley first experienced incarceration in 1991, awaiting trial for allegedly plotting to assassinate brewery chairman Sir Charles Tidbury. After slipping out of Brixton Prison with Nessan Quinlivan, during bail he along with three accomplices fatally shot Det Gda McCabe and gravely wounded Det Gda Ben O’Sullivan in a failed post office break-in on June 7th, 1996.
Damien Gallagher, McAuley’s friend, insisted on distinguishing between “Pearse the individual and Pearse the history”.
McAuley was recognised for his efforts as an intellectual, a teacher, and a genuine human. As many people commented over the past few days, he was a compassionate, warm, and hopeful individual. These sentiments were expressed by his acquaintances when they paid their final respects.
Mr Gallagher noted that McAuley was especially disturbed by the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza, a situation that filled him with deep sorrow.
The funeral ceremony concluded with his casket covered by the Tricolour and transported for a short distance to Strabane Cemetery, loftily positioned and overlooking the town. The former inmates from Strabane Republican association served as honour guards, accompanying his casket to its final location.
As the casket was lowered into the earth, a set of black gloves placed atop it were removed. Meanwhile, a law enforcement helicopter circled above, and a patrol car from PSNI maintained a watchful presence from a respectful distance.