Monument to honour fallen gardaí

Michael Commins 

A monument to honour Detective Garda John Morley and Garda Henry Byrne, who were shot dead in the course of duty, on July 7, 1980, will be unveiled at Shannon’s Cross between Ballaghaderreen and Loughglynn on Friday, July 28, at 3pm. The Minister of Justice and Equality, Charlie Flanagan from Laois, will attend the ceremony.  
A book featuring stories and memories from local people, colleagues and friends recalling the terrible events of that time, will also be launched on the day.
John Morley and Henry Byrne, both natives of Knock parish, were in a car carrying four gardaí that confronted raiders who had robbed the Bank of Ireland in Ballaghaderreen a short time earlier. The tragic circumstances that were about to unfold, took place at Shannon’s Cross, a place that was catapulted from a local crossroads in the national headlines on a day that shocked the Irish nation.
John Morley enjoyed national status as one of Mayo’s top footballers during the 1960s and into the 70s. He was a regular on the Connacht inter-provincial team for the Railway Cup series in both decades. John and Henry also lined out with Kiltimagh and the Byrne-Morley tournament was hosted by the club in their memory for many years.
Members of the Morley and Byrne families will be joined on Friday afternoon by friends and colleagues and people from the locality and much further afield. After the unveiling there will be refreshments in the Community Centre in Loughglynn. 
The committee members behind the commemoration monument are Brendan Gordon, Michael Creaton, Kevin Murtagh, Martin Freeman and Martin Duggan.