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Updated 22.40pm
“I AM BAD enough of a bastard and tough enough to make really unpopular decisions,” Frank Flannery said of himself in late 2009, just a few months after he had been demoted by Fine Gael for suggesting it could go into coalition with Sinn Féin.
His point at the time may have been that despite earning a rebuke from his party for such a suggestion – and those comments still rankle with some in Fine Gael – he was relentlessly focussed on helping it get into government.
By 2011, Fine Gael was such a well-oiled machine that it could not fail at the ballot box, almost achieving what would have been an unlikely overall majority. A significant amount of the credit for this can go to Flannery, a native of Galway, who has been engulfed in a political storm in recent days.
Just before 5pm yesterday, he distributed a statement to media organisations informing them that he had stepped down from roles with the Rehab Group and Fine Gael. His departure followed days of controversy surrounding how tenable it was for him to combine being a Rehab director and sometime consultant with his role as director of elections/organisation and a trustee of Fine Gael – both voluntary roles, according to the party.
But who is Frank Flannery?
He is not widely-known amongst the general public, but is renowned in political circles. A former president of the Union of Students in Ireland in the early ’70s, Flannery began working for Rehab in 1973 after graduating from University College Galway, eventually becoming its CEO in 1981, a position he would serve in until 2006.
During that time he also became deeply involved in politics and Fine Gael, emerging as a close confidante of party leader Garret FitzGerald during those tumultuous years of 1981 and 1982 when there were three general elections.
While close to FitzGerald, Flannery was largely sidelined during the leaderships of Alan Dukes (above, with Flannery), John Bruton and Michael Noonan from the late ’80s to the early ’00s.
He only re-emerged after the disastrous 2002 general election when Michael Noonan’s Fine Gael lost 23 of its 54 seats and a number of high-profile TDs. The disastrous result would lead to Noonan’s departure from the top spot and the eventual installation of Enda Kenny as party leader on his long and remarkable rise to the office of Taoiseach.
The Flannery Report
Flannery’s role during the nine years preceding the historic 2011 general election cannot be underestimated. He is credited with authoring the ‘Flannery Report’ which bluntly stated that unless Fine Gael brought itself into the 21st century, it faced ruin. This was at the time when the Progressive Democrats was seen as a credible alternative on the centre-right of Irish politics and, perhaps more importantly, was in government with Fianna Fáil – getting things done.
Of course it wasn’t all Flannery, but Fine Gael underwent an overhaul as a political organisation after 2002 with better regional organisation, focus-group research, strong campaign strategies,a building-up grassroots support, particularly in Dublin where the party had been hammered almost out of existence in 2002, and flashier websites with an early entrance into social media.
Remember Enda Kenny’s ‘Contract for a Better Ireland’ in 2007? Some scoffed (and we’d certainly scoff at it now when we look at all those promises) but it typified the party’s strategy of hammering home a message, a tactic repeated in 2011 with the famous ‘Five Point Plan’.
(via Irish Election Literature)
In 2007, under Flannery’s direction and Kenny’s leadership, Fine Gael regained 19 Dáil seats. Though not strong enough to oust Fianna Fáil and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern with the economy still booming, Flannery had helped to put in place the organisation which was ready in 2011 when the country’s economic collapse meant Fianna Fáil was a toxic political brand.
Sinn Féin
Not that there weren’t hiccups along the way. Most notably in 2009 when Flannery suggested in the run-up to the local and European elections – where Fine Gael became the largest party of local government for the first time – that his resurgent party would be prepared to “do business” with Sinn Féin if it meant putting Fianna Fáil out of government.
This earned a sharp rebuke from Kenny and temporary demotion from his role as director of elections. He was not nearly as prominent at the 2011 election as he had been in 2007, but Fine Gael entered government nonetheless. In addition Flannery, as Education Minister Ruairí Quinn perhaps mischievously pointed out yesterday, was and has remained close to Fine Gael advisors in government.
He is also the chairman of the Forum on Philanthropy and Fundraising – an organisation which aims to get wealthy individuals to give more to charity. In this role he has also courted controversy, once proposing that the number of days a non-tax resident could stay in Ireland each year be increased in return for a €5 million one-off payment to a good cause and €1 million a year payment to the exchequer for 10 years.
A loyal Fine Gael member, he was at the party’s Ard Fheis in the RDS earlier this month and the European People’s Party congress in the Convention Centre last week, but he had declined to comment on the controversy in recent weeks.
Rehab
That controversy has centred on Rehab, where he has remained on the board since resigning as CEO in 2006 and has carried out consultancy and lobbying work – the details of which remain unclear and which the Public Accounts Committee is seeking clarity on.
Rehab has been in the headlines in recent weeks after Flannery’s successor as CEO, Angela Kerins, declined to disclose her salary despite being asked three times on RTÉ Radio. She relented last month following a special board meeting, revealing she now earns €240,000 or €6,000 more than she did in 2011.
Questions have also arisen about Rehab’s low profits on its lottery scratch cards. The disability charity and training organisation argues that the National Lottery has an unfair advantage and, as the Irish Times has reported, Flannery has lobbied the Department of Justice on this issue, on Rehab’s behalf, about the winding down of the government’s charitable lotteries scheme.
Only yesterday, Quinn said yesterday that Flannery had discussed the compensation scheme with him, though not, the minister claimed, “in any kind of lobbying way”.
The uncertainty over Flannery’s role with Rehab and how that may have crossed over with his obvious political connections has contributed to the current situation.
PAC seeks answers
All this uncertainty is despite Kerins and other board members spending some seven hours before the Public Accounts Committee last month.
Flannery’s absence from that hearing (he was belatedly invited, but Rehab decided not to bring him as part of its delegation) and one report stating that he was in Leinster House at the time of the hearing, added to the controversy.
Two specific events in recent days appear to have led to Flannery’s decision to part ways with Rehab and Fine Gael. First, the Irish Times reported on Saturday that Flannery was paid thousands of euro for work on behalf of Rehab to lobby several government departments.
Second, during the course of that aforementioned interview on RTÉ Radio, Ruairí Quinn pointed out that he would occasionally see Flannery with Fine Gael advisors prior to Cabinet meetings. A political veteran, Quinn was no doubt aware of the importance his words carried.
Now, Flannery’s departure leaves outstanding questions that the PAC will seek answers to, something the committee has become particularly good at in recent months. It’s worth noting that PAC, which has been divided along party lines on certain issues in recent months, is united on the need for the now ex-Fine Gael strategist to come before it.
Flannery has not responded to an interview request from this website, but will face calls to respond to the PAC in the coming days.
All pics: Photocall Ireland
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A apology will hardly right the wrong which was Carefully planned against him
@SFLoonies: let’s be fair. I think most people would say he deserves something. It was a atrocious act he was accused of and some people would never recover from it…
@SFLoonies: and he deserves EVERY SINGLE PENNY.
@☘: who said it would? If he didn’t apologise people would be giving out about that
And what will happen to Callinan? Nothing – he’ll keep his big pension a d nothing more will be said about it.
@P Quinn: Well in a banana republic no one is accountable and they still ride off with a nice tidy pension…David Taylor at the center of all of this is the latest to step down and will be patted on the back and walk away with his pension in his back pocket……rotten to the core the whole bloody system…..and the sheeple in this country are so god dam ignorant and will go out and vote the same shower of idiots back in.
Very few were prepared to stand up for Maurice McCabe.
Very few would have been able to endure the sustained pressure he was subjected too.
Plenty more still think why could he not just shut up and stop making trouble for certain people.
He has done the State some service, I hope it was not all in vain.
@Aine O Connor: considering the good he has done, he deserves €100m +. Better than going into the pockets of the western bankers.
@Steven Fitzpatrick:
I agree.
Too little to late,this government is mired in cover up culture,how dare he question someone in authority.Forced to apologize should be the headline.
he is not apologising on my behalf !!!!! 99.9 % of the population knew he was a good man,the rest were trying to destroy a good mans reputation !
Enda Kenny should be apologising.
FFG knew nothing of said smear campaign… This country is very soft..
It may not right the wrongs but it’s a start and I wish Garda McCabe all the very best now that that horrendous shadow of doubt has been lifted from his shoulders.
Had this brave man committed suicide he would have gone to the grave as a guilty man but he stood his ground against the bullying and degradation and won.
Well done Garda McCabe, well done indeed.
(Can you sort an aoul ticket for me :) :)
Of course I am joking)
Take out a full page ad in the newspapers, citing the offenses for which the government is issuing the apologies. Signatures from the entire cabinet in place when the offenses occurred. That’s a suitable apology.
A bit late Charlie
Will it gather dust on a shelf like the moriarty tribunal report which found DOB bribed michael lowry,who is now propping up government.
They will need a minister for apologies at the rate theyre going
And the civil servant that cheered on Taylor from the ditch has apologized ?
When the corruption is at the very top and the perpetrators are not punished for their crimes what message does it send to the rest of society? One rule for them and another for us . With this type of carry on I really hope people will open their eyes when it comes to the GE and get rid of these criminals.
When you need a change of subject
Fool ! No need to apologise on behalf of the state. Apologize on behalf of yourself and the gov.
The smell will go away but the stain will remain in everyone’s eyes
Ah cop yourselves on, FG are riding high in the poles, this country is very sick indeed
He should be told to stick his apologies
No chance that the corrupt garda involved will get a slap on the wrist or any time just ride off into the sunset with a a bonus and a nice fat pension This is the norm in this filthy corrupt State
Not on my behalf, i believed and supported the man, do it behalf of the liars and fraudsters who tried to frame him.
He should be able to take a civil action against Callanan and Taylor for defamation of character. But maybe he will take the soup and sign a waiver which could be more profitable. Whatever he gets, good luck to him
He read the apology ,
He should be told to stick you apologies
all this over penalty points
Bit late now lads
It was the gov and the gardai that tried to discredit and destroy him, not the people, and this ignorant idiot politician has the gaul to stand up and apologize as if we were all in it.
Sorry about this post but it seems to have been repeated.
Sorry about this posting but it seems to have been repeated.
I needed an apology from this Justice Minister But so far he has refused. My family and I have suffered many years of Garda harassment and we have no criminal records. It appears that we were dealing with some of these people that had affected very badly the McCabes lives. This is what happened to us:
I went to England in the 1960s to find work so as I might one-day return to set-up a lifelong dream to own my own grocery store in my native Ireland. There was no work to be had in Ireland at the time. I had some very good jobs in England for instance, shop manager, rent collector for a London Council, and Insurance Agent. Those were trusted positions for which I appreciated. I met a girl from Galway and eventually we married and had our first child. It was then that I decided to return home and try to set-up my dream store. That dream became reality in 1972. I was over the Moon to think that at last I had achieved the dream with many odds stacked against me. The store was doing fairly well and we were on friendly terms with our customers. But suddenly things began to change. We realised the area of our store appeared rough with gangs of thugs roaming the streets on a regular basis. The thugs caused a lot of vandalism to our store and began to terrorise us. Of course we took this situation up with local Gardai (Irish Police) but they advised us to leave the area, as they were not in a position to help us. We were very disappointed at what was happening and considered leaving the store. We were reluctant to leave as we had a bank loan on the store and that had to be paid back. But worse than the problem we were subjected to from the thugs amazingly the police began terrorising us and I was arrested on occasions and locked up in police stations cells. They were bringing charges and allegations against me that didn’t make any sense. I had no criminal record. We left the store and spent many years thereafter trying to come to terms as to why this had happened to us. The following is a list of allegations and charges against me:
30 YEARS OF GARDA HARASSMENTS AND WRONGDOING
1973. I was accused of making a false burglary claim. No action is taken.
1973. I was accused of assault and charged. The case against me was struck out at the Court of Appeal.
1973. Two Gardaí ignored an incident when I was assaulted behind the counter of the store. They refused to charge the perpetrator.
1973. I was accused of assault and charged. The case was dismissed at the Appeal Court.
1974. I was accused of dangerous driving. No action is taken.
1974. Subjected to Gardaí surveillance. No action is taken
1974. Store Street Gardaí searched our Store and several items were taken from shelves. Representations were made for the return of the items but this refused.
1975. My car was searched. No action is taken.
1975. I was accused on 1st March with a breach of the peace and locked in a cell. The case against me was dismissed at the Bridewell District Court.
1975. I was accused of receiving stolen property on the 28th June and locked in a cell. The case against me was dismissed at the Bridewell District Court.
1976. In the second car search. No action is taken.
1976. I was accused of threatening behavior by Gardaí. No action is taken.
1976. I was arrested under the O.A.S.A, at 10:30 am 7th January 1976 at Blackrock Co. Dublin. I was taken to Dún Laoghaire Garda Station and locked in a cell from 11 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. I was then released and told that I was free to leave. When I went outside they said they would drive me to my home, which was a twelve-mile journey. But Instead of driving me home, they brought me to the Bridewell Garda Station and rearrested me when I got out of the car. I was taken in there and locked in a cell until 11 a.m. the next day 8th January. In this arrest, I was accused of (1) being involved with subversives, (2) being involved with Sinn Fein, (3) arranging illegal meetings, (4) accused of bank robbery, (5) accused of being in possession of a stolen car, (6) accused of being involved with criminal gangs, (7) involved with the I.R.A. Barbara was told when she visited me at the Bridewell Garda Station that our store and home would be searched that night but that search never took place. She was also told that 3 years awaited me in prison.
All OF THE ABOVE ACTIONS FROM 1973 to 1976 WERE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF FITZGIBBON STREET GARDA STATION UNDER ORDERS FROM: NAMES HAVE BEEN OMITTED AND CAN BE OBTAINED IF REQUIRED.
===========================================================================
RATHCOOLE GARDA STATION:
1981. I was accused of operating illegal gaming machines but the action against me was dismissed at Court.
1982. Gardaí tried to block a compensation claim for an unprovoked attack against me. But despite this, I won my case 7 years later at the Compensation Tribunal. The judge said that irrespective of the Gardaí evidence that I was a credible witness and I was entitled to the claim. Two years later I received my claim.
1983. I was accused by Gardaí of causing malicious damages to a car but the case against me was dismissed at Kilmainham District court.
1984. The 2nd search of the home on the 11th of September. No action is taken.
1984. The 3rd charge of breach of the peace but the case against me was withdrawn at Rathfarnham District Court.
1984. The 2nd charge of assault. The action is withdrawn.
1984. The 2nd charge of malicious damages. The action is withdrawn.
1984. The 2nd charge of dangerous driving. No action is taken.
1984. I was accused of a threatening charge. No action is taken.
1985. The 3rd search of the home 20th April. No action is taken.
1985. The 3rd charge of assault against me. The case was withdrawn at Rathfarnham District Court.
1985. I was accused by the Serious Crime Squad of committing serious crimes. No action is taken.
1985. I was accused of refusing to stop when signaled by Gardaí. No action is taken.
ALL OF THE ABOVE ACTIONS FROM 1981 TO 1985 WERE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF RATHCOOLE GARDA STATION UNDER ORDERS OF: NAMES HAVE BEEN OMITTED AND CAN BE OBTAINED IF REQUIRED.
===========================================================================
TALLAGHT GARDA STATION:
1986. The 2nd accusation of dealing in stolen goods. No action is taken.
1991. The 4th search of the home. An apology was tendered by Gardaí.
2000. The 5th search of the home. No action is taken.
2000. 6th July search of the home. No action is taken.
2000. Accused of having drugs at my home. Held under house arrest by Gardai. Nothing was found. The explanation offered for this action was that they were in the wrong house.
ALL THE ABOVE ACTIONS FROM 1986 TO 2000 WERE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF TALLAGHT GARDA STATION UNDER ORDERS FROM: NAMES HAVE BEEN OMITTED AND CAN BE OBTAINED IF REQUIRED:
===========================================================================
FURTHER NOTE:
Although most of the accusations were serious, I was fortunate that the Gardaí were unable to frame me with an offense. I had always come out of it a free man but I was angry that, because of it, I had lost my home and my livelihood and had come very close to the breaking up of our family. The words “Why me?” are still ringing in my head. Many years have been spent trying to come to terms with our loss and figuring out why this had happened to my family and me. I have lived a psychologically tortured life because of these Garda actions and I have suffered ongoing nightmares and numerous hospitalizations. I have no criminal record.
After suffering those years of Garda harassment my wife Barbara passed away with a very heavy load on her mind. But she indicated that as we were innocent of any wrongdoing that the Gardaí would one-day call upon us and offer an apology. The Gardaí action against us had largely affected us particularly, Barbara with the bringing up of our five children. Barbara and I spent 53 years of our lives together.
I went to England in the 1960s to find work so as I might one-day return to set-up a lifelong dream to own my own grocery store in my native Ireland. There was no work to be had in Ireland at the time. I had some very good jobs in England for instance, shop manager, rent collector for a London Council, and Insurance Agent. Those were trusted positions for which I appreciated. I met a girl from Galway and eventually we married and had our first child. It was then that I decided to return home and try to set-up my dream store. That dream became reality in 1972. I was over the Moon to think that at last I had achieved the dream with many odds stacked against me. The store was doing fairly well and we were on friendly terms with our customers. But suddenly things began to change. We realised the area of our store appeared rough with gangs of thugs roaming the streets on a regular basis. The thugs caused a lot of vandalism to our store and began to terrorise us. Of course we took this situation up with local Gardai (Irish Police) but they advised us to leave the area, as they were not in a position to help us. We were very disappointed at what was happening and considered leaving the store. We were reluctant to leave as we had a bank loan on the store and that had to be paid back. But worse than the problem we were subjected to from the thugs amazingly the police began terrorising us and I was arrested on occasions and locked up in police stations cells. They were bringing charges and allegations against me that didn’t make any sense. I had no criminal record. We left the store and spent many years thereafter trying to come to terms as to why this had happened to us. The following is a list of allegations and charges against me:
30 YEARS OF GARDA HARASSMENTS AND WRONGDOING
1973. I was accused of making a false burglary claim. No action is taken.
1973. I was accused of assault and charged. The case against me was struck out at the Court of Appeal.
1973. Two Gardaí ignored an incident when I was assaulted behind the counter of the store. They refused to charge the perpetrator.
1973. I was accused of assault and charged. The case was dismissed at the Appeal Court.
1974. I was accused of dangerous driving. No action is taken.
1974. Subjected to Gardaí surveillance. No action is taken
1974. Store Street Gardaí searched our Store and several items were taken from shelves. Representations were made for the return of the items but this refused.
1975. My car was searched. No action is taken.
1975. I was accused on 1st March with a breach of the peace and locked in a cell. The case against me was dismissed at the Bridewell District Court.
1975. I was accused of receiving stolen property on the 28th June and locked in a cell. The case against me was dismissed at the Bridewell District Court.
1976. In the second car search. No action is taken.
1976. I was accused of threatening behavior by Gardaí. No action is taken.
1976. I was arrested under the O.A.S.A, at 10:30 am 7th January 1976 at Blackrock Co. Dublin. I was taken to Dún Laoghaire Garda Station and locked in a cell from 11 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. I was then released and told that I was free to leave. When I went outside they said they would drive me to my home, which was a twelve-mile journey. But Instead of driving me home, they brought me to the Bridewell Garda Station and rearrested me when I got out of the car. I was taken in there and locked in a cell until 11 a.m. the next day 8th January. In this arrest, I was accused of (1) being involved with subversives, (2) being involved with Sinn Fein, (3) arranging illegal meetings, (4) accused of bank robbery, (5) accused of being in possession of a stolen car, (6) accused of being involved with criminal gangs, (7) involved with the I.R.A. Barbara was told when she visited me at the Bridewell Garda Station that our store and home would be searched that night but that search never took place. She was also told that 3 years awaited me in prison.
All OF THE ABOVE ACTIONS FROM 1973 to 1976 WERE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF FITZGIBBON STREET GARDA STATION UNDER ORDERS FROM: NAMES HAVE BEEN OMITTED AND CAN BE OBTAINED IF REQUIRED.
===========================================================================
RATHCOOLE GARDA STATION:
1981. I was accused of operating illegal gaming machines but the action against me was dismissed at Court.
1982. Gardaí tried to block a compensation claim for an unprovoked attack against me. But despite this, I won my case 7 years later at the Compensation Tribunal. The judge said that irrespective of the Gardaí evidence that I was a credible witness and I was entitled to the claim. Two years later I received my claim.
1983. I was accused by Gardaí of causing malicious damages to a car but the case against me was dismissed at Kilmainham District court.
1984. The 2nd search of the home on the 11th of September. No action is taken.
1984. The 3rd charge of breach of the peace but the case against me was withdrawn at Rathfarnham District Court.
1984. The 2nd charge of assault. The action is withdrawn.
1984. The 2nd charge of malicious damages. The action is withdrawn.
1984. The 2nd charge of dangerous driving. No action is taken.
1984. I was accused of a threatening charge. No action is taken.
1985. The 3rd search of the home 20th April. No action is taken.
1985. The 3rd charge of assault against me. The case was withdrawn at Rathfarnham District Court.
1985. I was accused by the Serious Crime Squad of committing serious crimes. No action is taken.
1985. I was accused of refusing to stop when signaled by Gardaí. No action is taken.
ALL OF THE ABOVE ACTIONS FROM 1981 TO 1985 WERE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF RATHCOOLE GARDA STATION UNDER ORDERS OF: NAMES HAVE BEEN OMITTED AND CAN BE OBTAINED IF REQUIRED.
===========================================================================
TALLAGHT GARDA STATION:
1986. The 2nd accusation of dealing in stolen goods. No action is taken.
1991. The 4th search of the home. An apology was tendered by Gardaí.
2000. The 5th search of the home. No action is taken.
2000. 6th July search of the home. No action is taken.
2000. Accused of having drugs at my home. Held under house arrest by Gardai. Nothing was found. The explanation offered for this action was that they were in the wrong house.
ALL THE ABOVE ACTIONS FROM 1986 TO 2000 WERE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF TALLAGHT GARDA STATION UNDER ORDERS FROM: NAMES HAVE BEEN OMITTED AND CAN BE OBTAINED IF REQUIRED:
===========================================================================
FURTHER NOTE:
Although most of the accusations were serious, I was fortunate that the Gardaí were unable to frame me with an offense. I had always come out of it a free man but I was angry that, because of it, I had lost my home and my livelihood and had come very close to the breaking up of our family. The words “Why me?” are still ringing in my head. Many years have been spent trying to come to terms with our loss and figuring out why this had happened to my family and me. I have lived a psychologically tortured life because of these Garda actions and I have suffered ongoing nightmares and numerous hospitalizations. I have no criminal record.
After suffering those years of Garda harassment my wife Barbara passed away with a very heavy load on her mind. But she indicated that as we were innocent of any wrongdoing that the Gardaí would one-day call upon us and offer an apology. The Gardaí action against us had largely affected us particularly, Barbara with the bringing up of our five children. Barbara and I spent 53 years of our lives together.I went to England in the 1960s to find work so as I might one-day return to set-up a lifelong dream to own my own grocery store in my native Ireland. There was no work to be had in Ireland at the time. I had some very good jobs in England for instance, shop manager, rent collector for a London Council, and Insurance Agent. Those were trusted positions for which I appreciated. I met a girl from Galway and eventually we married and had our first child. It was then that I decided to return home and try to set-up my dream store. That dream became reality in 1972. I was over the Moon to think that at last I had achieved the dream with many odds stacked against me. The store was doing fairly well and we were on friendly terms with our customers. But suddenly things began to change. We realised the area of our store appeared rough with gangs of thugs roaming the streets on a regular basis. The thugs caused a lot of vandalism to our store and began to terrorise us. Of course we took this situation up with local Gardai (Irish Police) but they advised us to leave the area, as they were not in a position to help us. We were very disappointed at what was happening and considered leaving the store. We were reluctant to leave as we had a bank loan on the store and that had to be paid back. But worse than the problem we were subjected to from the thugs amazingly the police began terrorising us and I was arrested on occasions and locked up in police stations cells. They were bringing charges and allegations against me that didn’t make any sense. I had no criminal record. We left the store and spent many years thereafter trying to come to terms as to why this had happened to us. The following is a list of allegations and charges against me:
30 YEARS OF GARDA HARASSMENTS AND WRONGDOING
1973. I was accused of making a false burglary claim. No action is taken.
1973. I was accused of assault and charged. The case against me was struck out at the Court of Appeal.
1973. Two Gardaí ignored an incident when I was assaulted behind the counter of the store. They refused to charge the perpetrator.
1973. I was accused of assault and charged. The case was dismissed at the Appeal Court.
1974. I was accused of dangerous driving. No action is taken.
1974. Subjected to Gardaí surveillance. No action is taken
1974. Store Street Gardaí searched our Store and several items were taken from shelves. Representations were made for the return of the items but this refused.
1975. My car was searched. No action is taken.
1975. I was accused on 1st March with a breach of the peace and locked in a cell. The case against me was dismissed at the Bridewell District Court.
1975. I was accused of receiving stolen property on the 28th June and locked in a cell. The case against me was dismissed at the Bridewell District Court.
1976. In the second car search. No action is taken.
1976. I was accused of threatening behavior by Gardaí. No action is taken.
1976. I was arrested under the O.A.S.A, at 10:30 am 7th January 1976 at Blackrock Co. Dublin. I was taken to Dún Laoghaire Garda Station and locked in a cell from 11 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. I was then released and told that I was free to leave. When I went outside they said they would drive me to my home, which was a twelve-mile journey. But Instead of driving me home, they brought me to the Bridewell Garda Station and rearrested me when I got out of the car. I was taken in there and locked in a cell until 11 a.m. the next day 8th January. In this arrest, I was accused of (1) being involved with subversives, (2) being involved with Sinn Fein, (3) arranging illegal meetings, (4) accused of bank robbery, (5) accused of being in possession of a stolen car, (6) accused of being involved with criminal gangs, (7) involved with the I.R.A. Barbara was told when she visited me at the Bridewell Garda Station that our store and home would be searched that night but that search never took place. She was also told that 3 years awaited me in prison.
All OF THE ABOVE ACTIONS FROM 1973 to 1976 WERE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF FITZGIBBON STREET GARDA STATION UNDER ORDERS FROM: NAMES HAVE BEEN OMITTED AND CAN BE OBTAINED IF REQUIRED.
===========================================================================
RATHCOOLE GARDA STATION:
1981. I was accused of operating illegal gaming machines but the action against me was dismissed at Court.
1982. Gardaí tried to block a compensation claim for an unprovoked attack against me. But despite this, I won my case 7 years later at the Compensation Tribunal. The judge said that irrespective of the Gardaí evidence that I was a credible witness and I was entitled to the claim. Two years later I received my claim.
1983. I was accused by Gardaí of causing malicious damages to a car but the case against me was dismissed at Kilmainham District court.
1984. The 2nd search of the home on the 11th of September. No action is taken.
1984. The 3rd charge of breach of the peace but the case against me was withdrawn at Rathfarnham District Court.
1984. The 2nd charge of assault. The action is withdrawn.
1984. The 2nd charge of malicious damages. The action is withdrawn.
1984. The 2nd charge of dangerous driving. No action is taken.
1984. I was accused of a threatening charge. No action is taken.
1985. The 3rd search of the home 20th April. No action is taken.
1985. The 3rd charge of assault against me. The case was withdrawn at Rathfarnham District Court.
1985. I was accused by the Serious Crime Squad of committing serious crimes. No action is taken.
1985. I was accused of refusing to stop when signaled by Gardaí. No action is taken.
ALL OF THE ABOVE ACTIONS FROM 1981 TO 1985 WERE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF RATHCOOLE GARDA STATION UNDER ORDERS OF: NAMES HAVE BEEN OMITTED AND CAN BE OBTAINED IF REQUIRED.
===========================================================================
TALLAGHT GARDA STATION:
1986. The 2nd accusation of dealing in stolen goods. No action is taken.
1991. The 4th search of the home. An apology was tendered by Gardaí.
2000. The 5th search of the home. No action is taken.
2000. 6th July search of the home. No action is taken.
2000. Accused of having drugs at my home. Held under house arrest by Gardai. Nothing was found. The explanation offered for this action was that they were in the wrong house.
ALL THE ABOVE ACTIONS FROM 1986 TO 2000 WERE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF TALLAGHT GARDA STATION UNDER ORDERS FROM: NAMES HAVE BEEN OMITTED AND CAN BE OBTAINED IF REQUIRED:
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FURTHER NOTE:
Although most of the accusations were serious, I was fortunate that the Gardaí were unable to frame me with an offense. I had always come out of it a free man but I was angry that, because of it, I had lost my home and my livelihood and had come very close to the breaking up of our family. The words “Why me?” are still ringing in my head. Many years have been spent trying to come to terms with our loss and figuring out why this had happened to my family and me. I have lived a psychologically tortured life because of these Garda actions and I have suffered ongoing nightmares and numerous hospitalizations. I have no criminal record.
After suffering those years of Garda harassment my wife Barbara passed away with a very heavy load on her mind. But she indicated that as we were innocent of any wrongdoing that the Gardaí would one-day call upon us and offer an apology. The Gardaí action against us had largely affected us particularly, Barbara with the bringing up of our five children. Barbara and I spent 53 years of our lives together.
I went to England in the 1960s to find work so as I might one-day return to set-up a lifelong dream to own my own grocery store in my native Ireland. There was no work to be had in Ireland at the time. I had some very good jobs in England for instance, shop manager, rent collector for a London Council, and Insurance Agent. Those were trusted positions for which I appreciated. I met a girl from Galway and eventually we married and had our first child. It was then that I decided to return home and try to set-up my dream store. That dream became reality in 1972. I was over the Moon to think that at last I had achieved the dream with many odds stacked against me. The store was doing fairly well and we were on friendly terms with our customers. But suddenly things began to change. We realised the area of our store appeared rough with gangs of thugs roaming the streets on a regular basis. The thugs caused a lot of vandalism to our store and began to terrorise us. Of course we took this situation up with local Gardai (Irish Police) but they advised us to leave the area, as they were not in a position to help us. We were very disappointed at what was happening and considered leaving the store. We were reluctant to leave as we had a bank loan on the store and that had to be paid back. But worse than the problem we were subjected to from the thugs amazingly the police began terrorising us and I was arrested on occasions and locked up in police stations cells. They were bringing charges and allegations against me that didn’t make any sense. I had no criminal record. We left the store and spent many years thereafter trying to come to terms as to why this had happened to us. The following is a list of allegations and charges against me:
30 YEARS OF GARDA HARASSMENTS AND WRONGDOING
1973. I was accused of making a false burglary claim. No action is taken.
1973. I was accused of assault and charged. The case against me was struck out at the Court of Appeal.
1973. Two Gardaí ignored an incident when I was assaulted behind the counter of the store. They refused to charge the perpetrator.
1973. I was accused of assault and charged. The case was dismissed at the Appeal Court.
1974. I was accused of dangerous driving. No action is taken.
1974. Subjected to Gardaí surveillance. No action is taken
1974. Store Street Gardaí searched our Store and several items were taken from shelves. Representations were made for the return of the items but this refused.
1975. My car was searched. No action is taken.
1975. I was accused on 1st March with a breach of the peace and locked in a cell. The case against me was dismissed at the Bridewell District Court.
1975. I was accused of receiving stolen property on the 28th June and locked in a cell. The case against me was dismissed at the Bridewell District Court.
1976. In the second car search. No action is taken.
1976. I was accused of threatening behavior by Gardaí. No action is taken.
1976. I was arrested under the O.A.S.A, at 10:30 am 7th January 1976 at Blackrock Co. Dublin. I was taken to Dún Laoghaire Garda Station and locked in a cell from 11 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. I was then released and told that I was free to leave. When I went outside they said they would drive me to my home, which was a twelve-mile journey. But Instead of driving me home, they brought me to the Bridewell Garda Station and rearrested me when I got out of the car. I was taken in there and locked in a cell until 11 a.m. the next day 8th January. In this arrest, I was accused of (1) being involved with subversives, (2) being involved with Sinn Fein, (3) arranging illegal meetings, (4) accused of bank robbery, (5) accused of being in possession of a stolen car, (6) accused of being involved with criminal gangs, (7) involved with the I.R.A. Barbara was told when she visited me at the Bridewell Garda Station that our store and home would be searched that night but that search never took place. She was also told that 3 years awaited me in prison.
All OF THE ABOVE ACTIONS FROM 1973 to 1976 WERE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF FITZGIBBON STREET GARDA STATION UNDER ORDERS FROM: NAMES HAVE BEEN OMITTED AND CAN BE OBTAINED IF REQUIRED.
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RATHCOOLE GARDA STATION:
1981. I was accused of operating illegal gaming machines but the action against me was dismissed at Court.
1982. Gardaí tried to block a compensation claim for an unprovoked attack against me. But despite this, I won my case 7 years later at the Compensation Tribunal. The judge said that irrespective of the Gardaí evidence that I was a credible witness and I was entitled to the claim. Two years later I received my claim.
1983. I was accused by Gardaí of causing malicious damages to a car but the case against me was dismissed at Kilmainham District court.
1984. The 2nd search of the home on the 11th of September. No action is taken.
1984. The 3rd charge of breach of the peace but the case against me was withdrawn at Rathfarnham District Court.
1984. The 2nd charge of assault. The action is withdrawn.
1984. The 2nd charge of malicious damages. The action is withdrawn.
1984. The 2nd charge of dangerous driving. No action is taken.
1984. I was accused of a threatening charge. No action is taken.
1985. The 3rd search of the home 20th April. No action is taken.
1985. The 3rd charge of assault against me. The case was withdrawn at Rathfarnham District Court.
1985. I was accused by the Serious Crime Squad of committing serious crimes. No action is taken.
1985. I was accused of refusing to stop when signaled by Gardaí. No action is taken.
ALL OF THE ABOVE ACTIONS FROM 1981 TO 1985 WERE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF RATHCOOLE GARDA STATION UNDER ORDERS OF: NAMES HAVE BEEN OMITTED AND CAN BE OBTAINED IF REQUIRED.
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TALLAGHT GARDA STATION:
1986. The 2nd accusation of dealing in stolen goods. No action is taken.
1991. The 4th search of the home. An apology was tendered by Gardaí.
2000. The 5th search of the home. No action is taken.
2000. 6th July search of the home. No action is taken.
2000. Accused of having drugs at my home. Held under house arrest by Gardai. Nothing was found. The explanation offered for this action was that they were in the wrong house.
ALL THE ABOVE ACTIONS FROM 1986 TO 2000 WERE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF TALLAGHT GARDA STATION UNDER ORDERS FROM: NAMES HAVE BEEN OMITTED AND CAN BE OBTAINED IF REQUIRED:
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FURTHER NOTE:
Although most of the accusations were serious, I was fortunate that the Gardaí were unable to frame me with an offense. I had always come out of it a free man but I was angry that, because of it, I had lost my home and my livelihood and had come very close to the breaking up of our family. The words “Why me?” are still ringing in my head. Many years have been spent trying to come to terms with our loss and figuring out why this had happened to my family and me. I have lived a psychologically tortured life because of these Garda actions and I have suffered ongoing nightmares and numerous hospitalizations. I have no criminal record.
After suffering those years of Garda harassment my wife Barbara passed away with a very heavy load on her mind. But she indicated that as we were innocent of any wrongdoing that the Gardaí would one-day call upon us and offer an apology. The Gardaí action against us had largely affected us particularly, Barbara with the bringing up of our five children. Barbara and I spent 53 years of our lives together.
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