Garda power abused

YESTERDAY’S intervention by a garda to prevent journalists from photographing Thomas ‘Slab’ Murphy, who was leaving a polling station in Co Louth, seems an unacceptable abuse of power — especially as companions of Mr Murphy were allowed to photograph journalists and their cars.

Earlier, one of three men who came to the polling booth with Murphy — a civilian — approached the journalists and warned them that they could not take photographs of Murphy, and that in preventing them from doing so he was “just following orders”.

It is more than difficult to see how an entirely legitimate interest in a public figure, who was sentenced for tax offences yesterday, could be described as interfering with the voting process. It is unacceptable, too, that a Garda spokesman said the force would not be commenting on the incident and that any complaints should be directed to the GSOC. There was no suggestion that Murphy, or his companions, were endangered in any way, or that their right to vote was impeded by the journalists, so the garda intervention is inexplicable.