Irish Taoiseach to formally apologise to family of murdered prison chief

Brian Stack, who oversaw security at the high-security Portlaoise Prison, was shot on the South Circular Road in Dublin on 25 March 1983 and succumbed to his injuries on 29 September 1984. The IRA later acknowledged its members were involved, though it said the killing was not authorised by its leadership. The Stack family has repeatedly highlighted missed opportunities and delays in three separate Garda investigations.

Following a previous apology from former Garda commissioner Drew Harris in 2019, Taoiseach Micheál Martin confirmed that, after government approval, he will issue a full and unreserved State apology. He will meet privately with the three sons—Austin, Kieran and Oliver—and Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan before delivering the statement in the Dáil on Wednesday.