A man who was the subject of a major miscarriage of justice case is petitioning the UN to force the Irish state to conduct an inquiry into the matter. Osgur Breatnach, who was one of three men convicted and subsequently cleared of the Sallins mail train robbery in 1976, wants a public inquiry into events which included the abuse in garda custody of a number of men and the obtaining of false confessions under “oppression”. In 1978, the Special Criminal Court convicted Osgur Breatnach and Bernard McNally for the 1976 robbery of the night mail train at Sallins, in Co Kildare. “There was a clear miscarriage of justice against torture victim Osgur Breatnach and it is high time the state acknowledged that via a public inquiry. Mr Breatnach, Brian McNally and Nicky Kelly were convicted of the robbery and sentenced to long terms of imprisonment.

Source: Irish Examiner September 10, 2021 11:39 UTC