Heroes get deserved recognition - People of the Year

It is unprecedented — but entirely fitting — that two individuals who triggered the resignations of a minister for justice and a Garda commissioner, while forcing a Taoiseach to change his tune, should be honoured among the recipients of the People of the Year awards. But that is precisely what happened at the weekend, bringing to a close, for now, a chapter of the saga surrounding garda whistleblowers Maurice McCabe and John Wilson who have exposed wholesale corruption within the gardaí.

Despite being a target of relentless intimidation at the hands of their peers, and in the face of a spate of vicious rumours about their motives, they have set an extraordinary example of courage. They have endured a torrent of insult and anger from people who should have heeded the allegations of wrongdoing within the force. Thanks to the bravery of two whistleblowers, reputations have fallen as those in authority turned a deaf ear to the persistent claims about widespread abuse of the penalty points system and of its cost in terms of lives and money.

At a time when the bulk of the media were accepting the official line, the Irish Examiner stuck by the whistleblowers, giving them a hearing and, in the public interest, giving them the space they needed to lift the lid on a can of stinking worms in the face of constant pressure. The scandal led to the resignation of former justice minister Alan Shatter while ex-Garda commissioner Martin Callinan had no alternative than to fall on his sword, a weapon reportedly driven home by Taoiseach Enda Kenny. And having poured scorn on the claims, Mr Kenny was subsequently forced to admit gardaí “did not do enough” to engage with the whistleblowers.