The minister told him the five individuals concerned had been the subject of a lengthy criminal investigation, had been prosecuted and were acquitted. If somebody in headquarters wanted to stamp it out altogether, why was the high-powered criminal investigation confined to Limerick? How come the only senior officer ensnared in the criminal investigation was Eamon O’Neill, who was by that time retired? Instead, the director appealed that decision to the Court of Appeal and was successful, so the criminal trial went ahead. During the trial, there was the strange spectre of prosecution Garda witnesses praising the professionalism and character of the defendants on trial.

Source: Irish Examiner March 14, 2026 04:01 UTC