22 year old Evan Fitzgerald, identified later as a ‘vulnerable young man’, died at his own hand outside a Carlow shopping centre last June. He was on bail at the time for firearms offences.

He and two friends had been arrested in March 2024 in a Garda sting after they had attempted to purchase weapons on the dark web – it turned out the ‘sellers’ were Gardai, and the guns were disabled.

They were released on bail after a court appearance in which Gardai never revealed the sting operation that had led to their arrest. In an unprecedented move, Judge Desmond Zaidan later spoke out to correct the record on what transpired in that court appearance.

In the aftermath of Mr Fitzgerald’s death, a number of politicians have called for an inquiry into how the sting operation was conducted, Garda statements in court, and leaks suggesting he had a ‘manifesto’ at the time of his death, which turned out to be untrue.

Irish Examiner special correspondent Mick Clifford has been covering this case, and he’s the guest on today’s episode.

Mick Clifford: Fatal aftermath of Garda sting raises grave questions about policing failure

Evan Fitzgerald case: Senior garda praises firearms probe

Justice minister found out from Labour TD that gardaí had supplied Carlow shooting gun

Carlow shooting 'shouldn't have happened, but none of us know the true story', says gun shop owner

Evan Fitzgerald: Garda sources say 'we don’t have hindsight' when protecting the public  

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