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Thursday, April 01, 2004
Why did my son have to die?
THE wheelchair-bound elderly mother of a Kerry farmer who died within hours of being released from Garda custody, joined in a street protest to highlight the case outside the Progressive Democrats convention in Killarney at the weekend.
Kate O’Shea from Castlemaine carried a placard asking “Why did my son have to die?” as PD delegates and party officials made their way to and from the convention centre in the Gleneagle Hotel.
She was joined by other members of her family and by Cllr Billy Leen who has been campaigning for justice for the middle-aged farmer since his death three years ago.
John O’Shea was found dead on the roadway outside his Castlemaine home in October 2001, hours after he had been released by Gardaí who questioned him about an earlier incident.
Mr O’Shea’s family insist the inquest into his death raised more questions that it answered and they have called for a full public inquiry into the case, a plea that has received the backing of Kerry County Council.
They had hoped to meet with Justice, Equality and Law Reform Minister Michael McDowell in Killarney at the weekend but Gardaí on duty ensured any protesters were kept well away from the hotel entrance.
Meanwhile, up to 20 members of the “Victims of the Legal Profession Society” also gathered outside the venue to protest against standards within in the legal profession. Visitors to the annual conference were handed leaflets calling on the Justice Minister to appoint an independent Ombudsman to police the legal service and the work of solicitors in particular.
The peaceful protest outside the hotel was one of a number undertaken by the group in recent months, including a meeting with senior political figures outside the gates of Dáil Eireann at the beginning of March.
In a letter directed to Tanaiste Mary Harney the group pointed out that the PD’s had been founded because of “low standards in high places” and called for support to rid the legal profession of similar low standards. Victims of the Legal Profession Society are based in Drumline, Newmarket-onfergus in Co Clare.
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