The father of a Detective Garda killed in the line of duty in Roscommon has described a life sentence for the man convicted of murdering him as 'justice served'.
Stephen Silver of Foxford, County Mayo was this morning sentenced to a minimum of 40 years in prison after he was found guilty of the capital murder of Colm Horkan on June 17th, 2020. In the Central Criminal Court this afternoon, Ms Justice Tara Burns described the trauma faced by the family, playing tribute to them for their strength in seeing the trial through.
The court heard four of the five witness impact statements today, with the 5th statement handed to the Judge for private examination.
Speaking to reporters on the steps of the Court house, Marty Horkan says it's been a long road:
'I feel on top of the world today, at least justice has been done for Colm because he was the perfect gentlemen, he was my son, I was proud of him and I am proud of him. We had two trials but at least we got justice for Colm, it's great to be able to move forward now, it's been a tough three years. We got justice for Colm and that's what he deserved because he was one wonderful gentleman.''
Meanwhile, Colm Horkan's Garda Colleagues have also been paying tribute to him following this morning's sentencing. The President of the Garda Representative Association described the Detective as a much loved and respected member of An Garda Siochána. Brendan O'Connor says that Colm's absence has been keenly felt by the members he served with. The GRA have also paid tribute to the investigating Gardaí for their professionalism in dealing with the case.
