Letter to the Editor: Sallins train robbery miscarriage of justice

Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan’s rejection (viz, Sean O’Rourke RTÉ Radio 1, July 8) of a 43-year-old apology together with a statutory Inquiry into the 1976 Sallins mail train robbery/miscarriage of justice case should come as no surprise to me, to my family or to the other families whose loved ones were wrongly accused, beaten in garda custody and imprisoned in connection with it.

That year, I had just turned 13 years old when my brother Osgur, aged 26, was arrested. After many twists and turns, and various trials, he was sentenced to 12 years penal servitude for a crime he did not commit, a sentence which was quashed on appeal 17 months later.