90:, as part of a spree of bank robberies the organisation had conducted in the Republic of Ireland from 1967 onwards in pursuance of finance for operations in Northern Ireland. When Gardaí Paul Firth and Richard Fallon arrived, without firearms to defend themselves, on the scene in their patrol car, the police had been alerted that something was wrong at the location by the gang's cutting off the bank branch's telephone wires. On confronting the three gunmen in front of the bank, Firth and Fallon were repeatedly fired at. Firth, who was behind Garda Fallon, called back to another police officer still in the patrol car to call for help on the radio, before diving to the ground to avoid the bullets aimed at him. Ignoring the fire, Fallon went forward to grab one of the gunmen, and was fatally shot in the neck and shoulder by one of the other two. The paramilitary robbery gang afterwards fled the scene having stolen £2000 from the bank branch.
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Command issued a public statement denying the involvement of its members in the robbery and shooting, and calling for a public enquiry to be set up by the Irish
Government into it. A subsequent statement from the organization referred to the Irish Government's investigation of the murder as 'bogus', and described the ongoing criticism in the Dublin press of Saor Eire for the murder as 'hysterical', and 'anti-socialist' in motivation, ending its statement with: "We deny that Garda Fallon was killed ... in the course of protecting the public. He died protecting the property of the ruling class, who are too cowardly and clever to do their own dirty work."
130:, that the perpetrators of the murder from the Saor Eire organisation had been given illicit protected status by the Irish Government after the shooting. The rumours further stated that this was carried out in order to cover up collusion between highly placed people within the Government, and the Dublin political class, who were involved in facilitating the illegal passage of fire-arms through the Irish Republic into Ulster to equip Irish Republican paramilitary groups that were forming there in the midst of the
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During the subsequent Garda investigation of the murder, which included multiple arrests of people in the Irish
Republic known to have associations with Saor Eire, and a public issuance of a wanted list by the Government of several named individuals sought in connection with the crime, Saor Eire's
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publicly stated in the Dail that there were grounds to believe that the gun that was used to murder Garda Fallon in 1970 had been part of an arms shipment that had been previously illegally passed through Irish state territory, and that senior Garda officers were of the view that a prominent
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Three alleged members of Saor Éire, Patrick
Francis Keane (arrested and extradited to the Republic of Ireland for the trial from Ulster by the British Government), and John ("Sean") Morrissey and Joseph Dillon (both apprehended in Dublin by the Garda using automatic fire from a
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The sons of Garda Fallon in later years also raised concerns that there had been some government involvement in assisting the men who murdered their father to elude justice, and politically campaigned on the issue through the media. In July 2001
109:, with up to 1000 Garda officers attending its course, and was buried at the Saints Peter & Paul Cemetery, at Balgriffin in North Dublin. He was posthumously awarded the Garda Siochana's Scott Medal, for heroism in the line of duty.
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via an Irish
Government state car, under the authority of a Government Minister. L'Estrange didn't name the Minister at the time, but press commentary later, in conjunction with Garda off-the-record sources, stated that
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on 5 November 1947, as
Officer No.9936; simultaneous to his own career with the force he had 3 brothers also serving with it. In 1970 he was attached to the Mountjoy Garda Station in
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political figure in the Dublin political order was associated with the movement of arms in question. Further press comment indicated that the politician in question was
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https://irishrepublicanmarxisthistoryproject.wordpress.com/2014/12/27/statement-by-saor-eire-denying-responsibility-for-the-raid-on-the-royal-bank-arran-quay-dublin/
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Shortly after the murder, persistent rumours began circulating in the Dublin press, informed by high-level sources within the Garda and political circles in the
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that had broken out in 1969, and that the firearms used in the murder of Garda Fallon could potentially be traced to an origin that would reveal such activity.
329:'Saor Eire' 'wanted posters' issued by the Garda in 1970 in connection to the murder of Garda Fallon. Irish Republican Marxism History Project website (2017).
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on 4 November 1971 that one of the three-man robbery team that had killed Garda Fallon had been escorted out of the Irish
Republic into Ulster and the
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http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/columnists/ryle-dwyer/after-39-years-truth-about-death-of-brave-garda-must-finally-be-told-89580.html
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Fallon was in his 45th year. He was the first member of the Garda Síochána to be murdered in the line of duty for almost three decades.
42:. He was initially employed in farming, before joining the police service. Before his police career he had been a soldier in Ireland's '
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in 1969, "with the knowledge of the then Irish
Government", and called upon three Cabinet Ministers, including the former Taoiseach
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Statement by Saor Eire', 'Irish
Republican Marxist History Project website, 27 December 2014. (Source: National Archives Ireland).
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to capture them), were subsequently charged with the murder and bank robbery, standing trial before a jury in 1971 and 1972 at the
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http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/my-38year-search-for-the-truth-by-the-son-of-a-slain-garda-hero-26345676.html
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in Dublin, but they were found not guilty. The perceived inadequacy of the trial led to the reactivation of the
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435:'After 39 years the truth about death of the brave Garda must be told', 'Irish Examiner', 18 April 2009.
399:'My 38 year search for the truth, by the son of a slain Garda hero', 'Independent, ie.' 19 January 2008.
353:'After 39 years the truth about the death of a brave Garda must be told','Irish Examiner', 18 April 2009.
299:'Garda Siochana Retired Members' Association website memorial entry for Richard Fallon, 'Lest we forget'
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387:'Murdered Garda's son call for 'Arms Collusion' enquiry', 'The Belfast News Letter', 20 February 2017.
269:'After 39 years the truth about the death of a brave Garda must out'. 'Irish Examiner', 18 April 2009.
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423:'Garda's son has no faith in pledges on legacy', 'The Newsletter' (Pub. Belfast), 17 September 2018.
290:'After 39 year the truth of the death of a brave Garda must be told', 'Irish Examiner' 18 April 2009.
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https://irishrepublicanmarxisthistoryproject.wordpress.com/2014/01/08/saor-eire-wanted-posters-1970/
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stated that the revolver that had been used to murder Fallon had been imported into
Ireland through
311:'The Final Beat: Garda Killed in the Line of Duty', by L. Walsh. (Pub. Gill & Macmillan, 2001).
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https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/garda-s-son-has-no-faith-in-dublin-s-pledges-on-legacy-1-8637047
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http://www.irishtimes.com/news/garda-fallon-first-on-the-force-killed-in-modern-troubles-1.303732
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http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/murdered-garda-s-son-calls-for-arms-collusion-enquiry-1-7829156
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278:'Garda Fallon, first on the force killed in modern Troubles', 'Irish Times', 21 April 2001.
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260:'Garda Fallon, first on the force killed in modern Troubles', 'Irish Times', 21 April 2001
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251:'An Garda Siochana & the Scott Medal', Gerard O'Brien. (Pub. Four Courts Press, 2008)
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http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/investigation-of-garda-fallon-murder-1.1622188
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Fallon was married with 5 children, all under the age of 12 at the time of his death.
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19:(18 December 1926 – 3 April 1970) was an Irish police officer who received the
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https://www.gardaretired.com/least-we-forget-garda-richard-fallon-r-i-p/
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Letter from Finian Fallon to the 'Irish Times', 10 December 2013.
375:'Garda ar Lar' R.T.E.1 television documentary, Programme 1, 2009.
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On the morning of 3 April 1970 three armed members of the
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List of Irish police officers killed in the line of duty
138:, a Member of Parliament, stated on the floor of the
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to be killed in the line of duty as a consequence of
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Government collusion with paramilitaries allegations
470:Garda Síochána officers killed in the line of duty
167:, a juryless court previously used for trials of
78:were in the process of robbing a branch of the
38:Fallon was a native of Moneen, Kilrooskey, in
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465:Deaths by firearm in the Republic of Ireland
377:http://www.rte.ie/tv/gardaarlar/prog1.html
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485:1970 murders in the Republic of Ireland
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175:and again in the latter stages of its
460:Police officers from County Roscommon
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490:Murder victims from County Roscommon
151:was the Minister being referred to.
366:(Pub. Gill & Macmillan, 2014).
101:Fallon's body was accorded by the
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23:. He was the first member of the
320:'Irish Examiner', 18 April 2009.
211:, who later held the office of
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475:Recipients of the Scott Medal
173:during the Second World War
97:State funeral & honours
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74:paramilitary organisation
17:Richard Christopher Fallon
194:, and Defence Minister
177:1956–62 border campaign
495:The Troubles in Dublin
165:Special Criminal Court
161:Central Criminal Court
113:Statement by Saor Eire
182:In 1980 the Irish TD
80:Royal Bank of Ireland
66:Arran Quay shooting
44:Local Defence Force
54:Fallon joined the
184:Garret FitzGerald
132:communal violence
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144:United Kingdom
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29:The Troubles
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480:1926 births
455:1970 deaths
364:Conor Brady
196:Jim Gibbons
149:Neil Blaney
21:Scott Medal
449:Categories
239:References
192:Jack Lynch
84:Arran Quay
34:Early life
213:Taoiseach
157:Tommy Gun
76:Saor Éire
227:See also
171:actions
88:Dublin
60:Dublin
140:Dail
128:Dail
169:IRA
86:in
82:at
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105:a
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