Gardaí slammed over Rebecca Browne Buncrana vigil comments

The An Garda Síochána response to the Donegal county councillor politically representing the family of Rebecca Browne has been widely and severely criticised.

Councillor Frank McBrearty Jr described the language and tone of the reply, which he received from Justice Liaison on January 13, 2025, as “sinister, disparaging and insensitive”. 

His view was supported by Bloody Sunday Family member, Liam Wray; the Justice for Rebecca Browne campaign; and Conor Moylan of Madden and Finucane Solicitors, the solicitor representing the Browne family. 

Rebecca Browne (21), from Galliagh in Derry, lost her life when she was struck by a Garda vehicle on May 21, 2023 and killed at Ludden on the outskirts of Buncrana in Inishowen, County Donegal. 

The collision was referred to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC), which announced in December 2024 the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had informed it not to direct a prosecution in the case.

On January 10, 2025, Cllr Frank McBrearty wrote to Garda Commissioner Drew Harris requesting a meeting for Rebecca Browne’s parents with “the investigating officers who were appointed to investigate this unlawful death case”.

He also wrote to the Garda Assistant Commissioner, North Western Region; the Irish Attorney General; the Irish Minister for Justice; and the Donegal Coroner. 

Buncrana Garda station vigil seeks Justice for Derry’s Rebecca Brown

'We want to sit down with the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission and just find out the truth' - Justice for Rebecca Brown campaign

Derry family's Buncrana vigil: Rebecca Browne's family seeks answers regarding her death

'The truth is coming. The silence is over' - Lynne Smith, mother

IN PICTURES: Derry family's Buncrana vigil for Rebecca Browne

The event was organised by Rebecca’s family to “demand answers, accountability and justice” regarding her death in May 2023

The An Garda Síochána Justice Liaison reply received by Cllr McBrearty references the ‘peaceful vigil’ which the Justice For Rebecca Browne campaign is holding outside Buncrana Garda station on Sunday, February 9, 2025.

It said: “The above planned protest is being advertised on Facebook. The last protest at Ludden contained approximately 50 persons. This protest may be larger as it is the same day as the annual Bloody Sunday march in Derry City which commences at 2.30pm. 

“The organisers of this protest are encouraging people to attend the protest in Buncrana before going to the Bloody Sunday march, which may appeal to certain individuals,” said the Justice Liaison reply. 

Cllr McBrearty pointed out the reply was “factually inaccurate and deliberately misleading”.

“On January 8, 2025, the Justice for Rebecca Brown campaign actually changed the date of its planned peaceful vigil in Buncrana to February 9, 2025, when it realised the original date clashed with Derry’s annual Bloody Sunday march,” he said.

Speaking to The Derry News, Liam Wray, whose brother Jim was one of the 13 people shot dead by the British army in the city on Bloody Sunday - January 30, 1972 - said he was “concerned” by the use of the Garda phrase ‘certain individuals’ in connection with the Bloody Sunday march.

“As an individual who has always promoted the Bloody Sunday march, it is there as a platform for those looking for truth and justice, as well as to commemorate those who died on Bloody Sunday and later as a result of Bloody Sunday,” said Mr Wray.

“I would fully support the Browne family in its quest for open justice, so they can see exactly the process that has taken place with regards to Rebecca - their  daughter, sister, granddaughter and niece. 

“I would stand there in Buncrana and be proud to do that. 

“When the guards refer to ‘certain individuals’ are they referring to people who have a quest for justice and truth and transparency? 

“I am delighted to be one of those ‘certain individuals’ who would support the Browne family. As a supporter of the Bloody Sunday annual march, I would be equally proud to support the Browne family in its quest and concern for truth, justice and transparency,” said Liam Wray. 

The Justice Liaison reply to Cllr McBrearty also contained the following paragraph: “The ‘Justice for Rebecca Browne’ campaign appears to be escalating at pace, with a dedicated social media page, suspected of being purposed to promote and publish conspiracy based material.

“A Policing Plan will be put in place for this proposed protest and march in Buncrana on Sunday, February 2 [sic].”

Speaking to The Derry News, Cllr McBrearty said it was not “morally right for An Garda Síochána to use the sinister, disparaging and insensitive language” it had when replying to the representations he had made on behalf of the Browne family.

“Not least because the Justice for Rebecca Browne campaign is organising a ‘peaceful vigil’. Why is An Garda Síochána referring to it as a “protest and march”?

“An Garda Síochána is going to have to apologise for its comments” he added, “because all that the Browne family wants is the truth and it is entitled to the truth; we won’t stop until we get the full truth.

“I will be advising the Browne family to instruct their lawyers to look for discovery of the file which was sent to the DPP, to which, in my opinion, they are entitled in third party discovery. 

“The Browne family has to find out if GSOC did its job correctly. Who is policing GSOC? It is supposed to police the guards but who is policing GSOC? 

“I am calling on An Garda Síochána to apologise to the Browne family and to the Bloody Sunday families for these comments and if it doesn’t  apologise, I will be calling on the Minister for Justice to apologise on behalf of An Garda Síochána,” said Cllr McBrearty.

Speaking to The Derry News, Conor Moylan of Madden and Finucane Solicitors, the solicitor for the Browne family, said: “We would be very interested to know what An Garda Síochána mean by ‘certain individuals’ that may be attracted to this protest.

“The only commonality between these two protests that we can see is families that have been let down by the state authorities.

“The Browne family to date, has not been provided any details or answers as to what happened to Rebecca, in the absence of fact it is only left to speculate.

“The support from the wider community has been a source of great encouragement to the Browne family,” said Mr Moylan.

A Representative of the Justice For Rebecca Browne campaign told The Derry News the “peaceful vigil” at Buncrana Garda station was a “peaceful quest for the truth”.

She added: “What we want, as a family, is to get the truth. We want to know what happened to Rebecca and to read this reply is just shocking. 

“On behalf of the whole campaign, we are asking, ‘Why do obstacles keep getting placed in our way?’ As a family, we just want to know what happened to Rebecca.

“To find out this was how An Garda Síochána was describing the family was shocking. Why were they doing this? We are just a wee family from Derry. We just want to know what happened to Rebecca. 

“We are going to Buncrana peacefully. We have no other intention but to show we want support and we want answers; we can’t have peace if we keep having questions,” said the spokesperson, who also questioned the Garda use of the phrase “escalating at pace”.

“By using that language, it felt as if An Garda Síochána did not want us to receive any support. That is how we felt,” she said.

“An Garda Síochána had been silent all along and its motive had been to squash any visible support for the Justice for Rebecca Brown campaign.”

“It felt very intimidating that they wanted to do a ‘policing plan’. If they can go to all that effort, why could they not have made the effort to come and speak to us? 

“We wouldn’t have any questions if they had answered our questions, if we had truth. You can’t have a conspiracy when you have the truth.”

The Derry News also contacted An Garda Síochána for comment.