Mother of convicted garda tells court he was never in trouble before
No member of the family had ever been in trouble before, Louise Hickey said. “When they were growing up, other parents would say to their own kids, ‘why aren’t you like the Hickeys?’.”
He, along with his brothers, attended St Finbarr’s in Farranferris as a boarder. The principal of the school, Fr Aidan O’Driscoll, also spoke on Hickey’s behalf, describing him as helpful, co-operative, and kind as a student, with the respect of his fellow students, the teachers and the priests.
Asked how he felt about the incident in Waterford City at the heart of this court case, Fr O’Driscoll said: “It saddens me and shocks me because it was so out of character for Daniel, for what we knew of Daniel and still know of him.”
Hickey, aged 29, is originally from West Cork and joined the gardaí in 2006, being stationed in Shannon before going to Waterford. He secured employment as a letting agent with a property management company eight months ago.
Martha McEnery, aged 42, is from Kerry and has served in Dún Laoghaire, Togher, Carrigaline and Waterford during her 13 years in the force.
Her garda inspector in Waterford, Tom Duggan, spoke in her favour yesterday in court, saying she was “most trustworthy and reliable” and her integrity was “above reproach.”
John Burke, aged 39, is from Cork City and spent 16 years as a garda before his conviction, serving in Rathmines, in the Regional Traffic Unit in Dublin Castle and in Ferrybank and Waterford City. He is married with one child, while both Hickey and McEnery are single.
Retired sergeant with the traffic unit, Kevin Donoghue, said Burke was “very diligent and honest.”
He had recently gone into the construction sector as a general operative.
