THE father of a woman shot by garda killer Adrian Crevan Mackin has said his family "feel like a pawn in a game" amid concerns he may have been a police informer.
Newry man Sean Phillips, who had accompanied his daughter to the house in Omeath, Co Louth where she and Garda Tony Golden were shot in October 2015, said he had "no faith" in an investigation launched by the Garda Obudsman and called for a public inquiry.
Mackin killed Garda Golden and left his former girlfriend Siobhan Phillips with serious injuries after the officer had brought her to collect belongings from the house when she made a complaint of domestic abuse.
Mackin, who was also born in the Newry area, then killed himself.
An RTÉ investigation has now raised concerns that the 25-year-old, who had been facing a charge of IRA membership, may have been operating as a Garda informer.
He was on bail at the time after being arrested on suspicion of firearms offences and was subject to a three-year suspended sentence for firearms offences in the north.
Mr Phillips told The Irish News last night he was delighted when the abusive Mackin was arrested by gardaí but he got out days later.
"He told Siobhan when he was beating her that he was 'invincible' because the gardaí had taken him to (an) arms dump," he said.
Mr Phillips said the family hope a public inquiry will lead to changes in the Republic's bail laws and treatment of domestic abuse victims.
He added that his daughter's progress since the shooting has been "nothing short of a miracle".
"He shot her in the forehead between the eyes and we were told that her injuries were so bad that she wouldn't make it."
