Damages for garda accused of IRA membership

A retired garda and a woman who were arrested on suspicion of being in the IRA today became the first people to be awarded damages by an Irish court for wrongful arrest in a terrorist-linked case.

Joe Walsh, a one-time member of the gardaie, and mother-of-four May Bedford received €175,000 and €100,000 respectively.

They were both detained under the Offences Against the State Act 1991 and sued Detective Inspector Anthony Fennessy, the Justice Minister and the Attorney General in connection with their separate arrests in Limerick.

During the hearing, Det Insp Fennessy said they were arrested on the orders of then Chief Superintendent Pat Byrne, now the Garda Siochana Commissioner.

He added that if it had been left to him, he would not have made the arrests.

It was accepted by the defendants that neither Mr Walsh, 61, who was stationed in Limerick at the time of his arrest, nor 58-year-old Ms Bedford, had anything to do with the IRA.

Ms Bedford was said to have known Mr Walsh, but to have had no connection with him.

After two days of legal argument in the absence of the jury, Mr Justice John Quirke told the jury he had ruled the arrests were not lawful and accordingly the claims made by the plaintiffs had to be successful.

He asked the jury to assess damages only and adjourned the issue of costs.

Mr Walsh, from Nenagh, Co Tipperary, and Ms Bedford, from Limerick, had claimed damages for false imprisonment and slander, and told the court they had no IRA connections and that their arrests had been shocking and traumatic.

Afterwards Mr Walsh said: “It took me 12 and half years to get here and vindicate my good name. Justice has been done, and I am very, very happy.”