Lennon dismissal - Garda had to go after revelations

THE Government was right to sack Superintendent Kevin Lennon from the Garda Siochána.

As one of two gardaí found by the Morris Tribunal to have orchestrated hoax finds of explosives to further their own careers, it would be unconscionable to keep him on in the force.

By any yardstick, his behaviour was reprehensible and contrary to everything the gardaí stand for as guardians of the public and upholders of law and order in the State.

Since it requires a Government decision to dismiss a superintendent, it fell to the Cabinet to remove him from office, in a move that will be applauded from one end of the country to the other.

Detective Garda Noel McMahon, his fellow accused in planting explosives in the years leading up to the 1994 IRA ceasefire, resigned in July.

This ignominious end to their careers should serve as a warning to other members of the force. There can be no place in the gardaí for anyone who thinks he or she can subvert the law.