Brian Stack, a chief prison officer, was shot in the back of the neck in Dublin in 1983. The attack, which occurred while he was crossing a street, left him severely injured; he died 18 months later as a result of the shooting. The incident has long been attributed to the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

For decades, the Stack family has campaigned for official recognition and accountability regarding the circumstances of the attack and the subsequent investigation. The upcoming state apology marks a significant development in a case that has remained a point of contention in Irish political and social discourse for over 40 years. While the BBC report focuses on the forthcoming apology, it does not detail the specific political negotiations or the exact nature of the state's previous handling of the case that led to this decision. The report confirms the identity of the victim and the perpetrator group, but provides limited context regarding the broader historical impact of the assassination on the Irish prison system or the specific timeline of the family's advocacy efforts.