‘He is a tiny lad ... not the type to take on three or four gardaí’

MICHAEL GAFFNEY will remember his 18th birthday as one of the worst days of his life. The events of that evening left him and his family traumatised.

Their solid faith in the criminal justice system began to unravel that evening. Mr Gaffney's story has prompted a Government minister to question if gardaí who are accused of committing seriously improper acts are really made to answer for them.

The young man claims he was brutally beaten in garda custody, vexatiously charged with assault and taken to court. And then, he says, his complaint against members of the force was not properly investigated.