Description
‘I am the soft star that shines so bright In Abbeylara late at night’
John Carthy was an average guy, a hard-working young man devoted to his mother and sister, who also happened to suffer from depression.
But in April 2000, in the grip of a bi-polar episode, John was shot dead by gardaí after emerging from his home in Abbeylara after a 25-hour stand-off. It was a shooting that should never have happened. What had begun as a private family affair in a small Irish village had quickly turned into a national media event, with journalists given more access to the scene than even John’s own sister.
In the wake of his death, Marie Carthy fought relentlessly for an independent inquiry into her brother’s shooting, withstanding personal humiliation and attempts to discredit her along the way. Six years on, she and her mother Rose found themselves vindicated by the findings of the Barr Tribunal. Yet nothing can ever bring John back.
My Brother John is a tribute to a beloved brother and son – a story of happy days growing up in rural Ireland, of coping with depression, and of how, in the aftermath of John’s death, the quest for justice kept Marie Carthy fighting through the darkest of days.
Paperback, 249 pages. In excellent preloved condition with slight creasing to cover