Suspensions lifted for four gardaí acquitted in Limerick fixed-charge notice case

Four gardaí suspended since 2020 have returned to duty after full acquittal, as calls grow for scrutiny of the prosecution

Retired superintendent Eamon O'Neill, Sergeant Anne Marie Hassett, and solicitor Dan O’Gorman outside Limerick Courthouse. Picture: Brendan Gleeson

The four gardaí who were acquitted on Monday of attempting to pervert the course of justice in Limerick have had their suspensions lifted with immediate effect. 

The Irish Examiner understands the case against them is now closed which means they will not be subjected to any disciplinary process in relation to the matter.

Sergeants Anne Marie Hassett and Michelle Leahy and gardaí Colm Geary and Tom McGlinchey were first suspended in November 2020. 

They were arrested and charged the following year in relation to 39 cases where the investigating gardaí said there were attempts to “square” fixed-charged notices for speeding, not wearing a seatbelt or using a mobile phone while driving.

Along with Sgt Hassett’s husband, retired superintendent Eamon O’Neill, they were acquitted on all counts on Monday after a 35-day trial.

At various points in the trial, superior officers praised the character and work of the various defendants. 

One witness, Superintendent John Ryan, described Garda McGlinchey as a “good old fashioned garda in a rural area”.

He said Garda McGlinchey had been a “very straight person” and a “huge loss” to the gardaí when he was suspended. 

The superintendent described Garda Geary as a “very solid, very skilled member” who was “hugely respected by colleagues in Ennis” where he worked.

He said Garda Geary had, despite his suspension, successfully applied for the position of detective and would be appointed depending on the outcome of the trial. 

That appointment is now expected to go ahead.

Meanwhile Labour TD Alan Kelly has said an inquiry should be conducted into the prosecution of the five who were put on trial as the whole case raises serious questions about the leadership of An Garda Síochána, the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation which ran the investigation, and the DPP.

“We must now ask fundamental questions about how this case was ever allowed to proceed,” he said.

"There must be full transparency on the cost of this investigation and prosecution. Vast Garda resources, legal fees, and court time were consumed in a case that failed on every count. 

"At a time when communities across the Mid-West were crying out for visible policing, resources were diverted into a prosecution that went nowhere, representing a deeply troubling use of public money.”

He said five gardai, including the retired superintendent, were left under a cloud for almost seven years with their professional and personal lives put on hold.

“No one who serves the State should be put through an ordeal of that length only to be fully vindicated in court,” he said.

“Their removal from frontline duties also had real consequences, with roads policing in the Mid-West deteriorating significantly during their absence.”