Smithwick Tribunal - Probe to clear cloud over gardaí

OPTIMISTICALLY, an issue which has been like a cloud over An Garda Síochána for the better part of 20 years will eventually be resolved by the Smithwick Tribunal, which opened in Dublin yesterday.

This issue is whether or not a member colluded with the IRA in the murder of two senior RUC officers.

Realistically, the tribunal can decide if such collusion did occur, but in the event of it so doing, it will be within the province of the Director of Public Prosecutions only as to whether or not a prosecution will follow.