A 28-year-old man is about to appear before the courts charged with the murder of Det Garda Adrian Donohoe.

He was due to appear before a special court sitting on Sunday night to face a murder charge.

The suspect, from south Armagh, has been in custody since last Sunday night.

He was set to appear before Dundalk District Court at 8pm. The development in the case is the first time anyone has been charged with any offence linked to the murder five years ago.

A second man, in his 50s, was released without charge earlier on Sunday after his arrest last Monday evening.

Det Garda Donohoe (41), a father of two, was killed when he was shot at close range in the car park of the Lordship Credit Union, Bellurgan, Jenkinstown, on the Cooley peninsula, at 9.30pm on January 25th, 2013.

He arrived at the credit union with Det Garda Joe Ryan to provide an armed escort for a staff member depositing a bag of money at a bank night safe in Dundalk.

When the two gardaí drove on to the Credit Union grounds, another car was driven across the exit of the car park. That prompted Det Garda Donohoe to get out of his Garda car to investigate.

However, as he was stepping out of his vehicle, a number of men came out from behind a nearby wall. One of them fired a shot and fatally wounded Det Garda Donohoe, leaving him no time to respond or take cover.

Gardaí believe the gang intended to rob Credit Union staff of the money. They escaped across the Border to south Armagh, where they are from. A number of them later fled the jurisdiction for the US.