Fiosrú opens investigation into death of Evan Fitzgerald following garda firearms sting Mon, 07 Sep, 2026 – 06:00Mick Clifford
The garda ombudsman Fiosrú is investigating all the circumstances leading to the death of Evan Fitzgerald, the Irish Examiner has learned.
Mr Fitzgerald shot himself outside Carlow’s Fair Green shopping centre in June 2025.
He, along with two friends, was facing charges of possession of guns following a sting operation by An Garda Síochána.
The case has been raised in the Dáil and the Seanad where Mr Fitzgerald was described as “a vulnerable young man”, with suggestions made that the garda sting operation had been totally inappropriate in this case.
Fiosrú has already examined two peripheral aspects to the case, neither of which was controversial.
Now, however, the Irish Examiner understands a more complete investigation is taking place on foot of a complaint.
A spokesperson for Fiosrú said that the ombudsman does not confirm or deny the existence of complaints.
Meanwhile, last month an inquest into Mr Fitzgerald’s death in Carlow was told that Mr Fitzgerald had felt guilty about how he believed he was responsible for getting his two friends into trouble over buying the guns.
Depositions from his parents related their son’s state of mind in the time between his arrest and that of his friends in March 2024, and his death in June 2025.
“He felt so guilty for his two friends, I mean, they were all in it together, but I think it was mostly Evan,” his mother Aideen Burke told the inquest.
“He really wanted to protect his friends, so I don’t know how much involvement each person had. After the court case, he was so upset.” She said the case had been consuming her son and she questioned why the sting operation took place.
“The guards were looking for organised crime people, not foolish Evan with his morbid fascination,” Ms Burke said.
One of the conditions of the bail granted to the three men in March 2024 was that there was to be no contact between them ahead of any trial.
Evan Fitzgerald’s father, Brian, told the inquest that his son felt very isolated as a result of the bail conditions.
“Evan and I were very close,” he said.
“I tried my best to get Evan to focus on matters outside of his upcoming court case. It did play heavily on his mind.” On April 16 this year, Shane Kinsella of Tynock, Kiltegan, and Daniel Quinn Burke from Allendale Lawn in Baltinglass pleaded guilty at Naas District Court to possession of a rifle, a pistol and ammunition on March 2, 2024 near Straffan, Co Kildare.
Both were subsequently handed three-year suspended prison sentences.
When contacted, Brian Fitzgerald said he didn’t wish to make any comment about his son’s case at this point.
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