Garda told disciplinary action withdrawn just hours before marriage

It was the best wedding present Garda Fiona Sheehan could have received.

Just hours before she was married, the Garda watchdog decided to withdraw disciplinary action against Garda Sheehan, who was previously cleared of any wrongdoing when using pepper spray to subdue a violent youth.

Even after a district court found that Garda Sheehan and her colleague, Brendan Dowling, had acted in a totally professional manner and with extraordinary restraint, the Garda Siochána Ombudsman Commission decided it would initiate disciplinary proceedings against the two gardaí in connection with the incident.