The Garda Ombudsman has been “struggling” to get information from gardaí and the courts in their investigation into the fatal shooting of Garda Tony Golden and the serious wounding of Siobhán Philips, according to the woman’s father.

From the high of the marriage referendum to domestic and foreign threats, and more Garda controversies, it’s been an extraordinary year for justice and law, writes Cormac O’Keeffe