Comment: If Dave Taylor let the cat out of the bag, it can’t be put back in now

There is a weariness about everything around the Maurice McCabe story at this stage, but events coming to a conclusion in Dublin Castle are worthy of serious attention. Recent revelations have brought into sharp focus matters of great import to both policing and the media in this country.

The tribunal is examining whether there was a smear campaign against Sergeant McCabe in 2013-14 when he was raising issues of Garda malpractice.

This campaign, it is claimed, used a discredited allegation against Sgt McCabe in an attempt to blacken his name. If so, he was scurrilously and falsely labelled as a child abuser in order to deflect from his claims, which were ultimately vindicated.