The whistleblower, the spy and the explosive tale of garda corruption

IT began with a broken marriage and ended yesterday with two gardaí labelled corrupt liars and 17 others branded grossly negligent or obstructive.

The entire force is now facing its darkest day in more than 80 years of service to the State.

Five years ago, Sheenagh McMahon’s extraordinary claims implicated her estranged husband, Detective Garda Noel McMahon, and Superintendent Kevin Lennon in the planting of hoax explosives around Donegal. She said their activities spread over the Border into the North in the early 1990s.