MICHEÁL MARTIN LAUDED Veronica Guerin’s “determination to pursue the truth”, as he reflected on the crime reporter’s life and legacy.
Guerin was shot dead in 1996 at the age of 37, when her crime reporting for the Sunday Independent was making waves.
She had spent the two years before her death writing about Ireland’s criminal underworld, exposing the brutality of gangland culture in the country. It had made her a target for drug lords, and she was subjected to numerous attacks and threats of violence before her death.
Speaking at an event titled Truth and Transparency, which marked 30 years since Guerin was killed, the Taoiseach said she was “a journalist whose work earned international respect”.
“Because of Veronica’s work it was not possible to deny that there were networks behind the death and social destruction experienced by communities in different parts of the island – and their leaders knew that they could be exposed,” he said.
“Thirty years on, the shock of her murder is as vivid as it was on that terrible mid-Summer Wednesday 30 years ago.”
He said the country’s reaction to her death was ”as close to full national unity as it is possible to have”.
Martin had known Guerin from when she was young, having met her in Ógra Fianna Fáil. He said even then it was “clear that she was would be a star”.
“Of her many virtues, being quiet was never one of them. Veronica filled every room she entered with energy and rejected the idea that young people should timidly defer to senior politicians,” he said.
“At meetings she would challenge anyone she thought was delivering empty or superficial comments and was impatient for change.”
Rather than make a career in politics or political journalism, Guerin chose to pursue crime reporting.
Martin said she showed us journalism “at its most dynamic, independent and effective”.
Following Guerin’s murder, the Criminal Assets Bureau was established, which seizes assets purchased with proceeds of crime.
Martin said that in the last 30 years, it has returned over €220 million to the State “and deprived criminal organisations significant sources of revenue”.
“As Veronica would have been well aware from her early training in accountancy and her meticulous work in tracing the financial records of illegal activity, cutting off financial flows to these organisations is crucial in bringing their activities to a halt,” he said.
I think she would be a loud and forceful supporter of the work of the Bureau.
The commemorative event was held at St Francis’s Hospice in Raheny, Co Dublin, for which her family have been raising money.
The funds raised will go towards the building of a new 24 single-bed in-patient unit, which the hospice says will be of “enormous significance” for patients and their families.
Brian Meehan is currently serving life in prison for her murder.
Veronica’s brother Jimmy has appealed to Brian Meehan to apologise to the family and “acknowledge his role” in the murder.
He told RTÉ that this “would make some small difference” to them and others.
“A lot of people put their heart and soul into solving this investigation and they successfully did, in my view,” he said.