Gardaí cleared after two-year probe

Two gardaí on trial for perverting the course of justice were cleared of all charges at Cork Circuit Criminal Court today.

The case has been hanging over Garda Brendan Daly and Garda Cathal O’Regan for more than two years and there were emotional scenes among family, friends and colleagues as the two men had the cases against them dismissed.

Both defendants had been charged with three counts of impeding the prosecution of Garda Michael Kiernan and three related counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice on February 23

2007 by failing to report a complaint by John Casey that James Boyce had been assaulted, failing to

report the assault and falsely reporting that Mr Boyce had fallen.

The prosecution case closed on Friday. Today there was a legal submission made by Tim O’Leary senior counsel for the two accused before Judge Con Murphy.

The background to the case was that Garda Michael Kiernan had his garda hat tipped off by James Boyce of Charleville during a late-night incident in Cork city centre.

Gardaí O’Regan and Daly stopped him and Garda Kiernan arrived and struck Mr Boyce. Garda Kiernan since pleaded guilty to this assault.

Today Mr O’Leary referred to inconsistencies between two key prosecution witnesses – Inspector Pat Cadogan and Sergeant John O’Donovan.

Inspector Cadogan said there was no reference made by either Garda Daly or O’Regan to Garda

Kiernan. Sgt O’Donovan, who was at the same meeting, said they referred to Garda Kiernan twice.

Judge Murphy acceded to the application to dismiss all charges and referred to this contradiction.

He also referred to an alleged complaint made by James Boyce’s friend, John Casey, to the two gardaí.

Judge Murphy said Mr Casey claimed in evidence that he asked on the night: “How do you make a

complaint?” or words to that effect, and later said in evidence, “I cannot recall precisely what I did say.”

This story courtesy of the Evening Echo