Gardaí attacking in full force - Whistleblower controversy

SPEAKING truth to power is a challenge. It is a civic duty not without consequences or personal costs.

If that power, in this instance An Garda Síochána, repeatedly shows it regards uncomfortable truths as an unwelcome intrusion into a well-ordered world, where self-serving tradition and hierarchy prevail, then who would be a garda whistle-blower? Who would be the next Sgt Maurice McCabe? Who would act for the victims of crime, when the authorities let them down?

What wrongs or scandals does this facilitate? How can the force protect its integrity, or properly discharge its duty, if its leadership repeatedly shows a threatening disdain for those who point to the warts so obvious in the mirror?