'It was Creatine after all': Clare man freed after gardaí mistakenly identify white powder as cocaine

At the bail hearing last month, a garda said Mr Walsh was caught 'red-handed' as €22,232 worth of cocaine was found in his home

The court heard that Robbie Walsh was so confident that the white substance was Creatine that he presented himself at Kilrush Garda Station.

A 30-year-old west Clare man spent five weeks on remand in prison due to an incorrect initial Garda test which wrongly determined that the white substance found at his home was cocaine.

In the case before Ennis District Court, Judge Alec Gabbett commented “it was Creatine after all” before directing Robbie Walsh’s release from Limerick prison.

This followed Sgt Frank O’Grady confirming to the court that the State was withdrawing the two drugs charges against Mr Walsh after further analysis undertaken on the white powder substance by Forensic Science Ireland (FSI) in Dublin found “it is not cocaine”.

Mr Walsh turned 30 at Limerick prison last weekend, and in the case he was charged with the possession with intent for sale or supply of cocaine with an estimated street value of €22,232 at his home at Island View, Kilrush on November 9, 2025.

November bail hearing

At a contested bail hearing on November 12, 2025, when Mr Walsh was remanded in custody to Limerick prison after Garda objections to bail, Mr Walsh told the court that the white powder substance was the muscle building supplement, Creatine and not cocaine.

At the bail hearing, Garda Shane Geary said a large quantity of white powder was found at three locations at Mr Walsh’s Kilrush home during a Garda search on November 9, 2025.

Garda Geary said that 319 grams of the white substance was recovered and said the €22,332 estimate was based on a street value of €70 per gram for cocaine. 

Garda Geary said Mr Walsh admitted that the white substance was his but denied that it was cocaine. Garda Geary told the court that gardaí carried out a Presumptive Drug Test (PDT) on the white substance which determined that it was cocaine.

Opposing bail for Mr Walsh, Garda Geary said Mr Walsh was caught “red-handed” as €22,232 worth of cocaine was found in his home.

Garda Geary said Mr Walsh has a number of previous convictions including a seven-year prison term for manslaughter in 2019 at the Central Criminal Court. In that case, Mr Walsh was convicted of the manslaughter of Karl Haugh in Kilkee in August 2017.

Concerns over accuracy

In court, Mr Walsh’s solicitor, Monica Roche, raised concerns over the accuracy of PDT tests for drugs. Ms Roche told Judge Gabbett that PDT tests “can be inaccurate sometimes”.

In response, Garda Geary acknowledged to Ms Roche that PDT tests “are not foolproof and have been known to be inaccurate from time to time”.

Ms Roche told the court that Mr Walsh was so confident that the white substance was Creatine that he presented himself at Kilrush Garda Station. Ms Roche said Mr Walsh was trying his best to turn his life around and his partner is expecting a baby in February.

Judge Gabbett said Mr Walsh’s previous convictions are extremely serious, stating that he is a convicted violent man. The judge said the biggest hurdle was the number of convictions Mr Walsh has while on bail.

Judge Gabbett said he was refusing bail and after Judge Gabbett gave his ruling, Mr Walsh hugged his mother and sister in court before being led away by prison officers.

Before exiting the court, Mr Walsh asked Judge Gabbett to do his best to speed up the examination of the white substance by the FSI.