His mother's testimony to the Barr Tribunal indicated that John was very hostile to the move and that this was the primary topic of their discussions that day.
His licence had been of limited duration prior to November 1998, when it was changed to an unlimited type, and this was subsequently renewed on 29 August 1999 At approximately 3:40pm on Wednesday 19 April 2000 John Carthy went to the cabinet that held his shotgun.
He brought it, a full box of cartridges and his gun belt back to the kitchen demonstrating, according to his mother, that "no one was going to put him out of his house".
Mrs Carthy informed the Barr Tribunal that her son did not order her out of the home, despite rumours to the contrary at the time.
[1] Rose Carthy asked her sister, Nancy Walsh, to ring the Gardaí in Granard, three kilometres away, to come out and "take the gun from John".
He warned the three Gardaí now present that John Carthy might be aggressive due to the "previous incident and alleged Garda assault".
Five ERU members were required to deal with practical matters while the sixth, Detective Sergeant Michael Jackson, was a trained negotiator.
Among their weapons were Uzi submachine guns, a Heckler & Koch assault rifle, a Benelli combat shotgun and SIG Sauer semi-automatic pistols.
The Garda negotiator saw this as a way of opening a dialogue so he told Carthy all they needed to do was ensure a safe method of delivery.
In this Sergeant Jackson was technically breaking the negotiators' rule of 'no concession without one in exchange' but felt it worth it as it might calm Carthy and build some trust.
At 12:24 pm, John Carthy telephoned a friend, Kevin Ireland, and informed him he had no notion of hurting anyone, that he was simply keeping them at bay with the gun and that he wanted a solicitor, one by the name of "Mick Finucane".
Jackson asked Carthy in a more direct and pleading tone, noted in its distinct nature by witnesses, to drop the weapon.
Jackson reluctantly drew his SIG Sauer pistol and attempted to bring Carthy down without killing him, with two shots to his legs.
In these crucial seconds, which the Tribunal found to be around a minute's duration, the ERU team hesitated in opening fire, continuing to plead with Carthy to surrender.
Marie Carthy's call came in response to two developments: first, the Garda investigation announced on the evening of the shooting on 20 April 2000[3] and, second, and more importantly, the Gardaí revelation that they would not make this report public.
[4] In a statement issued in response to public concern about the shooting, An Garda Síochána said that, under the Coroners Act of 1962, they were proceeding to hold an inquest into the death of the John Carthy.
In the words of the FBI report, "Garda personnel repeatedly and emphatically ordered Mr. Carthy to halt and throw down his weapon.
[6] The state's appeal, on 11 April 2002, of this decision to the Supreme Court of Ireland failed when the latter body found in favour of 36 Gardaí who challenged the right of this particular committee to call them.
The report included minute details of the siege and Carthy's life, right down to a heartbreaking letter he wrote his girlfriend after their breakup, apologising to her for being hot-tempered with her, explaining that he often found it difficult to control his disorder.
The breakup with his girlfriend, loss of employment, and most importantly, a false arrest combined with assault in custody, combined with his gun being taken as a result of Garda subterfuge, on foot of a report, not properly investigated at the time and subsequently proven false, that he had threatened to shoot children in the Handball Alley, which he had used, and which he had been central to restoring.
Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern made a public apology to the Carthy family on behalf of the Irish government.
The Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, admitted that the Carthy family was entitled to a profound expression of regret from the Irish State.
However, the Garda Representative Association remained unapologetic, noting that while Mr. Justice Barr had four years to compile his report, officers at the scene had only seconds to make up their minds.
Symbolically, six weeks before the report was first due, the chief negotiator on the day, Detective Inspector Michael Jackson, was recommended by Garda management for promotion to the rank of superintendent.
[15] At a subsequent press conference, John Carthy's sister, Marie, lambasted the Garda's refusal to give an apology, saying that it was regrettable that the Gardaí was still not accepting responsibility for her brother's death.