Mick Clifford: Long and winding road from WhatsApp messages to the Limerick garda trial

The probe into fixed charge notices was legal, but many questions remain — including whether it was even necessary, writes Mick Clifford

Clockwise from main picture: Retired superintendent Eamonn O'Neill and Sergeant Annmarie Hassett; Garda Colm Geary; Garda Tom McGlinchey; and Sergeant Michelle Leahy. All five were found not guilty of all charges in court this week after the ordeal they had endured.

It began at 6.36am on May 16, 2019. Gardaí from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI) arrived at former superintendent Eamon O’Neill’s home in Co Clare.