Mick Clifford: Gsoc investigator partying with The Monk screams 'Gubu'

Those guarding the gardaí have questions to answer and an independent inquiry must be held swiftly, its results made public

A Gsoc investigator apparently revealed to colleagues that he had been at a party in Dublin’s inner city last Monday evening when Hutch walked in. Picture: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie

The attendance of a Gsoc investigator at a party in the company of Gerry Hutch on the day that Hutch was acquitted of murder comes under the Gubu label.

Gubu was an acronym coined by Conor Cruise O’Brien in 1982 following an incident in which a murderer was found in the home of the State’s attorney general. 

Grotesque, Unbelievable, Bizarre, and Unprecedented is a description that could be used for the case of the Garda Ombudsman investigator partying with the Monk.

The investigator apparently revealed to colleagues that he had been at a party in Dublin’s inner city last Monday evening when Hutch walked in.

If that scenario alone were to be taken at face value, there is an obvious course of action the investigator should have followed. He should have left immediately, and first thing the next morning informed his manger in Gsoc.

Instead, he apparently thought it was no big deal, something to file away under “guess who I met last night”.

Then it emerged that he had a relationship, either personal or commercial, through a tenancy, with a female associated with the Hutch family. This is now going full Gubu.

A man who investigates the gardaí has placed himself in a position where he is consorting with members of a family, some of whom run an organised crime group.

The investigator was hired from abroad, reportedly through a Zoom interview, and has been involved in a number of high-profile investigations of Garda corruption or misbehaviour.

A Gsoc investigator partying with Gerry Hutch is 'grotesque, unbelievable, bizarre, and unprecedented'. 

One recent investigation followed the tragic death of Detective Superintendent Colm Fox, senior investigating officer of the Regency Hotel murder, the crime for which the Monk was tried and acquitted. Det Supt Fox, who was highly regarded professionally and well liked, took his own life with his firearm during the trial of Patrick Hutch, nephew of Gerry, in 2018, also for the Regency murder. Patrick Hutch was also acquitted.

Gsoc is investigating the circumstances around Det Supt Fox’s death. Quite obviously, this is a highly- sensitive case. If the investigator in question was involved in the investigation, major questions arise. Did he have a relationship of any sort with anybody associated with the Hutches while conducting that investigation?

Did his relationship with the Hutch associate arise out of the investigation? Either scenario should have alarm bells screaming for Gsoc. Add in the fact that this is taking place against a background in which the gardaí have been questioning retired garda superintendent John Murphy, who is serving a prison term for drugs offences, about suspected links to the Hutch group.

Once the matter blew up with Gsoc management, a process to suspend the investigator was initiated but he then resigned. His resignation could have serious implications for the investigation that Gsoc is now conducting into the affair, particularly if he does not deign to co-operate with it.

The establishment of Gsoc, which began operations in 2007, was the biggest leap forward for Garda accountability in the history of the State. Prior to that, investigations into misbehaviour or corruption were little more than a joke. 

Since it was set up there has been unrelenting tension between Gsoc and the gardaí. Representative bodies for the latter are constantly pushing back against what they consider unfair levels of accountability. 

Gsoc regularly points out that full co-operation from the force in investigations is often not forthcoming, a worrying state of affairs which has not fully engaged successive governments.

Shortcomings in Gsoc’s powers have been a constant theme that in recent years has finally been given due attention by the Department of Justice. Over the weekend, the Garda representative bodies have been making hay on the back of this Gubu affair. 

They want an inquiry removed from Gsoc. They want previous investigations reviewed and a complete reassessment of Gsoc recruitment policies. They are basking in high levels of righteous indignation.

The call for an independent inquiry is justifiable.

Armed gardaí outside the Criminal Courts of Justice where Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch was acquitted of murder last week. Picture: Colin Keegan/Collins 

Who will guard the guards is an important issue in any functioning democracy and in this instance it has emerged that those charged with guarding the guards have some questions to answer themselves. The inquiry should be swift and its results made public. For possibly the biggest casualty of this Gubu affair is the accountability of An Garda Síochána. 

There have been advances in accountability but arguably it still falls short of what is conducted, and expected, in similar democracies to ours. 

The overseer is constantly the subject of pushback from the gardaí and apparent indifference from the body politic.

In such an environment, it needs to be cleaner than clean to properly attempt to carry out its function.