McCabe was killed in Adare, County Limerick on 7 June 1996, by members of the Provisional IRA, during the attempted robbery of a post office van.
[6][10] The killing was denounced by the leadership of Sinn Féin, but later the party lobbied for the early release of McCabe's killers under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.
"[11] Pearse McAuley from Strabane and three County Limerick men – Jeremiah Sheehy, Michael O'Neill and Kevin Walsh – were convicted by the non-jury Special Criminal Court of manslaughter.
McAuley had escaped from Brixton Prison in 1991 while awaiting prosecution over the IRA's campaign in England and had jumped bail in Ireland two months before the shooting.
The Scott Medal is the highest honour bestowed by Ireland on a Garda who has shown exceptional courage and heroism risking their lives in their work as police officers.
[19] An academic exchange programme in honour of the slain detective was established in 1996 at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City.
The purpose of the exchange is to promote the sharing of practices and technologies in policing and criminal justice between Ireland and the United States.