Here on in, may the force be with us all

THE assistant commissioner came out to the gate to meet me. He was accompanied by a detective superintendent from the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation.

The two men escorted me through the front yard of Garda headquarters, in the Phoenix Park. The assistant commissioner was welcoming, although my presence must have been one giant pain in the neck for him.

I was there for an interview. The previous week, the newspaper for which I worked, The Sunday Tribune, had published a major story, claiming that an insurance firm used serving gardaí as claims agents.