Mid-ranking gardaí at centre of Christmas party that ended in car crash

Gathering may be linked to member of the force failing roadside alcohol breath test

He failed a roadside breath-test carried out by on-duty gardaí and was taken to Gurranabraher Garda Station after being arrested on suspicion of drink-driving.

An internal investigation has been launched by senior gardaí into a pre-Christmas Garda drinks party in Cork and a connection it may have to a traffic accident which resulted in one member of the force failing a roadside alcohol breath test.

It is understood that a number of middle-ranking, off-duty gardaí who had been socialising in small groups ended converging on one pub in the city centre during a night out in mid-December.