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

Husband and wife, retired superintendent Eamon O'Neill and Sergeant Anne-Maire Hassett. In 2019, Mr O'Neill was arrested and taken to Athlone for questioning; Sgt Hassett was held in their home for two hours. This week, they and the other three defendants in the Limerick Garda trial have been found not guilty of all charges. Picture: Brendan Gleeson

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.

Eleven members of the NBCI were present for the arrest of the superintendent in relation to alleged links to criminal elements.

The investigation was under Section 62 of the Garda Síochána Act, which makes it an offence for a member to release confidential information.

'Shock and distress' at arrest

“I went into a deep state of shock and distress,” Mr O’Neill later told a court.

“I was trembling. I experienced an extreme form of palatable fear.”

He had had a long and well-regarded career in An Garda Síochána.

A number of garda sources credited his work in tackling the gangland crime that blighted Limerick in the 1990s and 2000s. He was a central figure in the prosecution of five men for the murder of gangland figure Kieran Keane in 2000. 

Outside of work, he was known in GAA circles and was a member of the backroom team for the Limerick senior hurling manger, John Kiely.

Once he was dressed, he was taken to Athlone Garda Station for questioning.

Sergeant Hassett held for two hours 

His wife, Sergeant Anne Marie Hassett, was held at their home for two hours in a downstairs room while their nine-month-old son was upstairs. 

Phones and laptops were seized.

Meanwhile, Mr O’Neill’s friend and colleague, Inspector Arthur Ryan, was also arrested and taken away for questioning.

Like Mr O’Neill, Mr Ryan was deeply embedded in sport and had worked with referees in Munster rugby.

In Athlone, Mr O’Neill was fingerprinted and a DNA sample was taken.

He was held for 24 hours, during which time he underwent interviews.

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.

“The interview process was shambolic,” Mr O’Neill said in an affidavit.

“The persons who conducted the interviews were poorly briefed, and they appeared to have had a limited insight into what was occurring.”

His solicitor, Dan O’Gorman, was present for the interviews.

Questions over 'evidence'

At the end of the interviews, one of the gardaí interviewing him concluded by saying: “That is the evidence we wish to put to you.”

Mr O’Neill relayed the moment in his affidavit: 

I recall my solicitor and I looking at each other with no small degree of amazement, and my solicitor remarking specifically: ‘We haven’t seen any evidence.’  

Mr O’Neill and Mr Ryan were both suspended upon their release. Files were sent to the DPP. 

No charges

After a protracted period, a result came back from the DPP that neither man should be charged with any offence.

The initial evidence against Mr O’Neill came from the word of a criminal source. There was no other evidence as best can be established.

A ranking member of An Garda Síochána, friendly with both Mr O’Neill and Mr Ryan, was arrested on the same day as they were.

He was subsequently charged with releasing information to criminal elements. His case is still before the courts.

For Mr O’Neill and Mr Ryan, the whole affair was transformative and potentially career-ending. Returning to work would be extremely difficult. Both had been subjected to high-profile arrests on the basis of what turned out to be either flimsy or no probative evidence at all.

'Walking in a dead man’s shoes' 

Being suspended, the recently-completed trial was told by former assistant commissioner Fintan Fanning, is “almost like walking in a dead man’s shoes”, because you may be innocent but still have to suffer the penalty of being suspended.

Mr O’Neill retired from the force in early 2020 while still under suspension. 

By then, both he and Mr Ryan were the focus of different investigations.

Cocaine allegation against Insp Ryan

Mr Ryan was investigated for allegedly ingesting cocaine in the Hurler’s Bar, Castletroy, around 6pm one evening in late 2018 in the company of Mr O’Neill.

The latter man later swore that any basic investigation would uncover that the inspector in question “is the least likely character to take or ingest an illicit substance”, and that the CCTV evidence amounted to the man “wiping his nose”.

The evidence for the investigation was footage taken in the bar that shows him putting his hand to his face. He was seated in the lounge, where there was full CCTV, near an area where patrons walk through en route to the toilet. Anybody doing anything illegal in that area would be doing so with the most cavalier attitude possible.

Disciplinary process despite DPP's decision 

The DPP concluded that no charge was warranted.

Then, Mr Ryan was subjected to a disciplinary process over the matter. 

After a protracted process, during which Mr Ryan had to access forensic evidence abroad, he was eventually cleared of any disciplinary infraction.

The suspension was lifted. 

He is now reportedly taking a legal action against An Garda Síochána.

Eamon O’Neill probe took a different route 

Mr O’Neill’s journey went down a different route.

When his phones were seized and analysed, it was discovered that there were messages which suggested he had been involved in discussions on cancelling fixed charge notices for matters such as speeding, failing to wear a seatbelt, and using a mobile phone.

One case concerned driving without insurance.

In the insurance case, he had been petitioned by a retired superintendent for a neighbour on the basis that there had been major extenuating circumstances.

After consultation with Garda HQ, a new investigation of Mr O’Neill by the NBCI was opened.

What started as a probe into serious crime by violent and organised individuals was now going down a very different route.

Maurice McCabe's exposé

The wholesale abuse of the fixed charge notices system by a large number of gardaí was first exposed by former sergeant Maurice McCabe in 2012-14. He brought to policing, political, and media attention what was going on.

Only when the matter was investigated by authorities outside An Garda Síochána did the full picture emerge.

Whistleblower Maurice McCabe at Lough Sheelin, County Cavan in 2020. Picture: Barry Cronin

Many senior gardaí — but not all — habitually used their power to cancel the penalty points and the fine accompanying a fixed charge notice.

Ludicrous excuses

Ludicrous excuses for doing so were recorded. Some gardaí cancelled fixed charge notices outside their own district and divisional areas.

All of this was done under the right of gardaí to exercise appropriate “discretion”.

For example, a motorist genuinely speeding to hospital with a sick child is an obvious example of somebody who should benefit from discretion.

Equally, at the other end of the scale, just knowing your local garda through the pub or football club should not ever entitle an errant driver to the benefit of discretion.

Yet, that is what was going on before Mr McCabe blew a whistle.

Various probes uncovered that around 5% of all terminations, a huge percentage in the circumstances, were effectively quashed or “squared”.

A report by the then Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc) in 2017 revealed that a “sizable” number of cancellations had no documentation to explain why discretion was used.

Mr McCabe was completely vindicated for what he had exposed at huge personal cost.

The internal garda report at the time found that one superintendent and two inspectors had questions to answer.

All three were subjected to a disciplinary process that amounted to a slap on the wrist. 

The reports compiled by the Comptroller and Auditor General, by the Garda Inspectorate, and by Gsoc at the time all suggested that at least dozens of other senior gardaí had questions to answer, but nothing was done.

In the wake of Mr McCabe’s work, the system was reformed to a large extent — but not utterly.

Garda discretion narrowed since McCabe 

Discretion is still used in cancelling fixed charge notices, but the opportunity and scope of such discretion is much narrower.

This was alluded to during the recently concluded trial in Limerick. One witness, Superintendent Oliver Kennedy, gave evidence that discretion was part of normal policing to be used on a “case-by-case” basis.

He told the court that, when he was a prosecuting sergeant in court, he used his “common sense” when dealing with cases which were withdrawn or struck out.

Prior to Mr McCabe, fixed charge notices or tickets were squared by senior gardaí. That is no longer available.

Now, cancelling usually has to involve the garda who recorded the infringement. Another way it is done now is for the case to be struck out on recommendation of the prosecuting garda if the matter comes to court. The only other route is by petitioning the central office in Thurles where fixed charge notices are processed.

One of the accused at the Limerick trial, Sergeant Michelle Leahy, was charged that, in her role as a court presenter, she had one speeding summons withdrawn and another struck out.

Court presenters up and down the country do exactly this on a regular basis.

No real scrutiny of the practice

There has never been any real scrutiny of the practice.

A new circular was sent from Garda HQ about limits that should apply to the practice in 2022, but it is unclear if much has changed.

Garda Colm Geary was on trial for his involvement in an attempt to terminate fixed charge notices in three instances on request from Mr O’Neill.

Asked about it during an interview by the NBCI, he replied: “I didn’t think anything was wrong. He was a superintendent. I didn’t think any more of it.”

In general, there is acceptance that squaring is now done at a small fraction of what was the case prior to the McCabe revelations. In the event of a garda being found to engage in it in a consistent or abusive manner, the outcome would most likely be disciplinary.

Newly-minted garda discretion culture

That is the background of what was a newly-minted culture in garda discretion and squares.

What was about to unfold in Limerick in 2020 amounted to a criminal investigation into squaring tickets, but one that, to a large extent, was concentrated on a single senior officer.

No such investigation had ever, then or since, been conducted anywhere else in the State.

The investigation in Limerick was to examine whether then superintendent Eamon O’Neill attempted to pervert the course of justice.

And such a highly unusual probe was to be conducted by the Dublin-based crime fighting unit more accustomed to taking on organised or serious crime or cases involving murder.

For a lot of people in Limerick — whether in An Garda Síochána, political, sporting, legal or civic society — such an investigation raised all sorts of questions, not least about proportionality and why such a probe was being confined to Limerick.

Search warrants

The investigation fanned out from the contents in Mr O’Neill’s phones.

Typically, a WhatsApp message was received by him from somebody looking for a square.

He might then have messaged a colleague who could help. Quite often, this led to the garda who had made the detection.

Search warrants were issued for mobile phones belonging to gardaí and members of the public and, in some instances, for home residences.

Gardaí were generally told in advance they were to be served with a search warrant for their phones.

One of the defendants, Garda Tom McGlinchey, came into work to specifically hand over his phone.

File photo of Garda Tom McGlinchey. Like his fellow serving gardaí and retired superintendent Eamonn O'Neill, Garda McGlinchey was cleared of all charges in court this week. Picture: Liam Burke/Press 22

During the trial, it was put to Detective Sergeant Robert Madden, of the NBCI, by Garda McGlinchey’s counsel that if his client had anything to hide, he could have taken a hammer to his mobile phone or thrown it to the bottom of a lake.

“He handed over his phone on the back of the search warrant,” Det Sgt Madden replied.

'Am I snookered kid?'

There was evidence of discussions on squaring for members of the Limerick hurling panel.

One member of the team, Seán Finn, texted Mr O’Neill after he was recorded speeding in Bruff. The text read: 

Anything can be done or am I snookered kid? 

Mr O’Neill made further inquiries. In the end, Mr Finn paid a fine for speeding.

Jason Gillane, a brother of Aaron Gillane, contacted Mr O’Neill about being allegedly detected using a mobile phone while driving. Both brothers engaged in contact with Mr O’Neill thereafter on the matter.

Sgt Hassett contacted the garda who had made the detection.

Any way you could look after Gillane? His brother got blaggarded in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Saturday night playing for Limerick. 

"Eamon would really appreciate it. Would you mind?”

The NBCI cold-called at the Gillane home with a search warrant. 

The brothers were each interviewed under caution, but no charges followed.

A polite way of saying no

Pat Ryan is a three-time All-Ireland winning hurler. In November 2018, he was detected speeding by Sergeant Patricia Ryan. Afterwards, Sgt Ryan receive a text from Sgt Hassett.

“Sorry to be bugging you but you stopped a fella today, Pat Ryan, Doon. He’s on the Limerick panel with Eamon. Any way you could do something for him? No panic if you can’t and sorry again for annoying you about this.”

Sgt Ryan replied: “I’m sorry Anne Marie, I’ve all my incidents in the system.

“Unfortunately, once they’re on the system, they can’t be deleted.”

Sgt Ryan told the trial this was a polite way of saying no.

Meanwhile, Pat Ryan got a summons and forwarded a photo of that onto a third party — believed to be Mr O’Neill.

He later told Limerick District Court he hadn’t received a summons.

Through their investigation of Mr O’Neill, the NBCI had possession of the message Pat Ryan had sent on showing that he had received the summons.

Pat Ryan's conviction overturned

As part of the investigation, the NBCI obtained a search warrant for Pat Ryan’s home. In 2023, Pat Ryan pleaded guilty at Limerick District Court to committing perjury. He received a two-week prison sentence.

Later that year, in an appeal to the circuit court, his sentence and conviction were overturned.

Councillor Liam Galvin

Another case that the NBCI team uncovered was that of the Limerick councillor, Liam Galvin. In November 2017, he was detected doing 142km/h in a 120km/h zone on the M20 near Patrickswell.

File picture of Limerick councillor Liam Galvin. Picture: Brendan Gleeson

He sent Mr O’Neill a message: “Can you sort that for me?”

The two men exchanged messages about the issue on a number of occasions afterwards.

At one point, Mr O’Neill said the prosecuting garda was “a decent lady”. To which, Mr Galvin replied: “Sort her, so.”

Later, Mr Galvin included an attachment in his WhatsApp that was a screenshot of an agenda paper for a council meeting.

“I will move a motion at the next meeting that the government review the location of the GoSafe vans in Co Limerick,” the agenda stated. 

On the message, the councillor wrote: “Ha ha ha.”

‘Witness’ vs ‘suspect’

The investigation by the NBCI team was rigorous, if also curious in places.

Interviews were conducted with suspected gardaí in garda stations, lasting up to four hours.

This wasn’t the case for an interview with Chief Superintendent John Scanlon. He oversaw the neighbouring Laois-Offaly division. 

The trial heard that he had sent Mr O’Neill a text:

Eamon, that’s a friend of mine, stopped for a seat belt in Oola. Could you enquire? If it’s too late, no problem. 

The NBCI interviewed Chief Superintendent Scanlon as a suspect as opposed to a witness.

The interview, in contrast to those conducted with ranking members, took place in a suite in Harcourt Square Garda Station in Dublin. It lasted just 23 minutes.

The court was told that no notes were taken at the interview. 

Chief Superintendent Scanlon, who is married to another high-ranking garda, has since retired. 

No other senior gardaí probed

No other high ranking garda in the division, or even the neighbouring divisions, or anywhere at all, were investigated for a malpractice that — by its nature — has to go through such officers.

The trial heard a claim that two gardaí who were interviewed by the NBCI were told that they could be treated as “witnesses”, as opposed to “suspects”, depending what information they provided.

Chief Superintendent Michael McNulty, who led the NBCI team, denied this occurred.

Eight members of the force suspended

In November 2020, eight members of An Garda Síochána were suspended on the basis that they were being investigated for “corruption in public office”.

Most of them were from the traffic corps. 

The suspensions led to a reduction in the power of An Garda Síochána in the Mid-West to effectively police the roads.

Drop in detections in Limerick

Between 2019 and 2024, there was a drop of nearly 30% in detections for speeding in the Limerick area, arising at a time when the national figures for detections changed little.

Apart from that, an unquantifiable amount of prosecutions — probably running into the thousands — had to be thrown out because the prosecuting garda was one of those on suspension.

Charges brought in 2021

In July 2021, former superintendent O’Neill, Sgt Hassett and Sgt Leahy, and Garda McGlinchey and Garda Geary were charged with 39 counts (each relating to a single fixed charge notice case) of attempting to pervert the course of justice. 

These related to incidences between 2016 and 2019, and 30 were directly linked to Mr O’Neill.

Over the intervening years, there were a number of court appearances in relation to the case.

The five defendants appealed to have the charges dropped due to irregularity in the investigation.

In Limerick Circuit, Judge Tom O’Donnell upheld the appeal. On that occasion, the public gallery was full of serving and retired gardaí, present to support the five accused.

The DPP appealed the ruling. The Court of Appeal reversed it, allowing the trail to go ahead.

Four of the other gardaí, who were not charged at the time, sought a judicial review over their prolonged suspension.

The High Court heard the case. 

GRA supported the gardaí

Among the supporters of the gardaí in the public gallery was a representative of the Garda Representative Association.

The association has supported its members, including with legal costs, who were on trial or suspended.

In the Dáil, Limerick TD Richard O’Donoghue and Clare TD Cathal Crowe mentioned the cases of the suspended gardaí.

A retired chief superintendent in the Limerick division, Gerry Mahon, wrote a 17-page letter to then garda commissioner Drew Harris over the case, claiming Mr O’Neill was being unfairly targeted.

Mr Mahon requested a meeting with the commissioner, but Mr Harris said that would be inappropriate.

The petitions went unheard. 

For one thing, it is highly unlikely that any government would attempt to interfere with a garda investigation.

Apart from that, no government minister would touch anything to do with fixed charge notices after the debacle and resignations over that issue a decade ago during the McCabe affair.

High Court judges would be reluctant to interfere with any decision on suspensions from the commissioner, considering the effect on policing and the authority of the commissioner. 

Trial opened last November

So it was that the case progressed, and the trial opened on November 11, 2025.

Each of the defendants had a solicitor, a senior counsel, and two juniors.

This is entirely appropriate as each had their own case to defend, notwithstanding the commonality in the cases. 

In total, there were 17 barristers providing their services to the trial with six solicitors also in attendance.

An unexpected trend

A strange trend began to take place during the trial.

Witnesses called for the prosecution were sounding like they had been called for the defence.

Retired superintendent Sean Corcoran gave evidence about a request he had in with Mr O’Neill.

Retired Limerick Garda superintendent Sean Corcoran said Eamon O’Neill was 'one of the most loyal and dedicated' members he had encountered in 40 years in the force. File picture: Brendan Gleeson

A neighbour had been detected driving without insurance. Mr Corcoran said that the driver had been fully insured on a work van, but he not covered in the car he was driving when stopped.

Mr Corcoran said that there was nothing unusual or “covert” in contacting Mr O’Neill about the matter.

He said that Mr O’Neill was “one of the most loyal and dedicated” members he had encountered in 40 years in the force.

One of the defendants, Garda McGlinchey, was described by witness Superintendent John Ryan, who had worked with him, as a “good, old-fashioned garda in a rural area”.

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

Garda Colm Geary was described in court as being 'hugely respected by colleagues in Ennis'. Picture Brendan Gleeson

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

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.

Supt Ryan also said that Mr O’Neill had been “to the fore” in tackling the Limerick gangland feuding.

NCBI chief superintendent's evidence 

When the NBCI’s now-retired head chief superintendent Walter O’Sullivan gave evidence, he was asked whether the whole case against Mr O’Neill was pursued because of the arrest in May 2019.

“Nonsense,” Mr O’Sullivan replied.

WhatsApp messages 

The prosecution case included detailed evidence of Mr O’Neill receiving WhatsApp messages from either other gardaí, members of the Limerick hurling community, or just members of the public looking to have fixed charge notices squared.

For the defence, Mr Mahon gave evidence of working with Mr O’Neill in tackling gangland crime in Limerick in the 1990s and 2000s.

Mr O’Neill, he said, had a central role in the pursuing a feud that had claimed 23 lives. He said: 

We went toe-to-toe here with anarchy, and standing right beside me was Eamon O’Neill and others present. 

“I valued him as a professional, and I valued him as a human being.”

Under cross examination, the retired garda was asked about superintendents cancelling fixed charge notices under the policy that was introduced in 2014.

He repeatedly stated that, if a superintendent acted outside the policy, that would be a matter to be addressed by a disciplinary process. 

Retired assistant commissioner Fintan Fanning also gave evidence for the defence.

'Not guilty' verdicts on Day 35

Last Monday last, the 35th day of the trail, the jury returned with a verdict after just over six hours deliberating. 

All the defendants were not guilty on all 39 counts.

The packed courtroom exploded in spontaneous cheering and clapping as the defendants each broke down.

Among those present was Inspector Arthur Ryan, who had been arrested along with Mr O’Neill on that May morning back in 2019.

Garda detective chief superintendent Walter O’Sullivan oversaw the initial arrest of Eamon O’Neill and Arthur Ryan. He has since retired. Picture: Dan Linehan/Irish Examiner

Three tests: Legal, necessary, proportionate

Legality, necessity, and proportionality are the three core principles governing lawful policing.

Deploying power and applying resources is usually informed by those principles. Is it legal to investigate? Is it necessary to do so in order to maintain law, protect public safety, or ensure that a stop is put to a presumed criminal?

And is the investigation, the power used, the resources deployed, proportionate to any alleged crime?

The investigation into the abuse of fixed charge notices in Limerick was certainly legal.

However, many questions have been raised as to whether it was necessary or proportionate to what was at issue.

Garda morale 'on the floor' in Limerick

One outcome was the impact of morale in the Limerick area.

“On the floor” was how one source with An Garda Síochána in the city described it.

Members [of An Garda Síochána] are wondering what’s going on, and where they stand. There’s also fierce sympathy for those caught up in it. 

"Some are saying 'there but for the grace of God...[go I]'.”

Limerick speeding statistics 

According to garda crime statistics, there were 10,908 fixed charge notices issued in the Limerick division for speeding in 2019.

By 2024, this had fallen to 7,680. This is despite the national figure showing a very small increase in detections. 

Either motorists in Limerick were slowing down for some reason, or fewer were being detected speeding.

The weight of evidence assembled by the crime-fighting unit does suggest that retired Mr O’Neill had questions to answer in how he dealt with requests to square fixed charge notices.

Disciplinary process 

It is also the case that any other senior officer who has been, or would be, detected acting in this manner would have been subjected to a disciplinary process. Most in that position would probably opt to take early retirement.

Instead, what ensued was a major investigation that saw eight members of An Garda Síochána suspended for at least five years, a wallop delivered to morale of the traffic corps, and a trial that took as long as might a major fraud, organised crime matter, or murder case.

If the discovery of the contents of Mr O’Neill’s phone by garda management in the Phoenix Park was a shock, then the response was extremely curious.

Why focus only on one Limerick officer? 

Did management think this might be a condition confined to one senior Limerick garda?

Surely the first thing to do would be to conduct a major audit right across the area of fixed charge notices.

Surely if zero tolerance was being pursued, other senior officers should be investigated for “attempting to pervert the course of justice”.

None of that happened.

Nobody else was investigated

Neither was there apparently an interest in pursuing the prosecutions of members of the public who sought out a 'square'.

There was no investigation of an elected politician who not just sought a square but, while in the process of doing so, used his power to petition about the location of GoSafe vans.

The main focus of the investigation was Mr O’Neill and any member who could be tied to him in relation to 'squares'.

Key people have retired 

Drew Harris, under whose watch this investigation was conducted, has retired.

Then Garda commissioner Drew Harris at a meeting with the Policing Authority in September, 2024. He has since retired. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA

Walter O’Sullivan, who oversaw the initial arrest of Eamon O’Neill and Arthur Ryan, has also retired.

Any questions to be asked about the whole farrago will now be directed at different personnel at the top of An Garda Síochána.

Some may view the whole thing as a worthwhile exercise to stamp out corrupt practices. 

Yet, the questions still remain.

Could 2019 arrest be the key?  

Was it necessary? Was it proportionate? Would any of it have happened had Mr O’Neill not been arrested in May 2019 on a premise that turned out to be completely hollow?

“I never felt pressure like it in my whole life,” Mr O’Neill said outside Limerick Courthouse on Monday.

“It [An Garda Síochána] is an organisation that you give everything you can for it. 

But if they decide you fall, you fall heavy and they come after you. 

"They don’t offer you any back-up, medical advice, they offer you nothing.”