Neil Blaney was the Minister being referred to. Three alleged members of Saor Éire, Patrick Francis Keane (arrested and extradited to the Republic of Ireland for the trial from Ulster by the British Government), and John ("Sean") Morrissey and Joseph Dillon (both apprehended in Dublin by the Garda using automatic fire from a Tommy Gun to capture them), were subsequently charged with the murder and bank robbery, standing trial before a jury in 1971 and 1972 at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin, but they were found not guilty. The perceived inadequacy of the trial led to the reactivation of the Special Criminal Court, a juryless court previously used for trials of IRA actions during the Second World War and again in the latter stages of its 1956–62 border campaign. In 1980 the Irish TD Garret FitzGerald stated that the revolver that had been used to murder Fallon had been imported into Ireland through Dublin Airport in 1969, "with the knowledge of the then Irish Government", and called upon three Cabinet Ministers, including the former Taoisach Jack Lynch, and Defence Minister Jim Gibbons, of that Administration "to say what they know" of the matter. The sons of Garda Fallon in later years also raised concerns that there had been some government involvement in assisting the men that murdered their father elude justice, and politically campaigned on the issue through the media. In July 2001 Des O'Malley publicly stated in the Dail that there were grounds to believe that the gun that was used to murder Garda Fallon in 1970 had been part of an arms shipment that had been previously illegally passed through Irish state territory, and that senior Garda officers were of the view that a prominent political figure in the Dublin political order was associated with the movement of arms in question. Further press comment indicated that the politician in question was Charles Haughey, who later held the office of Taoiseach. Personal life Fallon was married with 5 children, all under the age of 12 at the time of his death. See also List of Irish police officers killed in the line of duty References 1970 deaths People from County Roscommon Deaths by firearm in the Republic of Ireland Garda Síochána officers killed in the line of duty Recipients of the Scott Medal 1926 births 1970 murders in the Republic of Ireland