Policeman Peter Sheridan A policeman who was the most senior Catholic in the RUC has spoken of an IRA plot to kill him during Mass. Former high ranking RUC, subsequently PSNI, policeman Peter Sheridan said he was told by gardaí during the height of the Troubles that his life was in serious danger.
“I use to attend Mass in Greysteel (Derry) and the guards had intercepted somebody in Co. Donegal who had my details, my kids’ details, what time we went to Mass on a Sunday. Obviously the intention was to carry out some form of attack, so I had that warning,” he said on RTÉ Radio 1.
He questioned who was to blame if there was an attack, saying: “Is it the person who was going to put the bomb under the car? Is the guy who made the bomb? Is it the guy who drove the getaway car? Or is it the guy, or girl, instead of saying their prayers on a Sunday were taking notes and passing them on?”
In many of the violent events he witnessed he said there could have been 15-20 people involved, saying “and people talk about justice as if there was only one person involved”.
Mr Sheridon is now CEO of Co-operation Ireland, an organisation that works towards reconciliation after the Troubles, after leaving his post as assistant chief constable in the PSNI in 2008 following more than three decades of service.