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ALAN SHATTER HAS introduced the General Scheme of a Children and Family Relationships Bill 2014, a groundbreaking Bill which, if implemented, would modernise family and child law to cater for the growing number of families whose needs are not adequately addressed in current law.
Most children live in marital families with their biological parents. However, a significant number of children live in other family types and these families do not have any “legal architecture” underpinning their parenting. This Bill seeks to provide legal clarity for all families in terms of their parental rights and responsibilities with the welfare and best interests of the child being at the heart of the legislation. A key message is that family types other than the married family can provide the necessary stability in which to raise a child.
This Bill is very complex and contains a significant number of provisions for families. If enacted, it will allow civil partners, step-parents, cohabitants and those who are providing day-to-day care for children (such as grandparents) to apply for guardianship or custody of a child. It provides for the assignment of parentage in Artificial Human Reproduction (AHR) and surrogacy. It also contains provisions relating to guardians ad litem, substitute guardians, interim custody and access orders amongst other provisions.
Currently where a child is born to unmarried parents only the mother acquires automatic guardianship rights in respect of their child. The father does not have any automatic guardianship rights whether or not he is cohabiting with the mother of his child. Where parents are in agreement, the mother and father can sign a Guardianship of Children (Statutory Declaration) S.I. No 5 of 1998 giving the father joint guardianship rights to his child. Where the parents do not agree, the father has no option but to apply to the local district court for joint guardianship rights.
Very many unmarried parents are misinformed about their guardianship rights and assume that where a father’s name is on a child’s birth certificate this, in itself, gives a father joint guardianship rights. It does not!
There is a provision in the Bill whereby an unmarried father who is cohabiting for a year or more with the mother before the birth of the baby will acquire guardianship rights to his child automatically, and this provision is very welcome. However, there is no mention in the Bill as to how these guardians will be registered. Currently married parents can produce their marriage certificates and unmarried mothers can produce the child’s birth certificate as evidence of guardianship. Without some form of evidence that the father has cohabited with the mother for the required amount of time it is difficult to see how this provision will work in practise.
We know from calls to our national specialist information service that there are many unmarried fathers who are not in cohabiting relationships with the mothers of their children, who are very committed fathers and who wish to be actively involved in the lives of their children. There is no provision in the Bill for acquiring joint guardianship rights more easily for these fathers.
We in Treoir recognise the difficulty of granting automatic guardianship rights to all unmarried fathers (for example in the case of a child conceived as a consequence of violence) but suggest that parents could be informed at the point of registration that putting the father’s name on the birth certificate does not give the father guardianship rights. They should also be provided with a statutory declaration for joint guardianship for signing at a later date if both parents agree.
Whether or not this Bill is enacted, a Central Register for all guardianship declaration must be established. Treoir has been campaigning for many years to have a central register for statutory declarations of joint guardianship. Since the Child Care Act 1997 introduced this facility there have been thousands of declarations signed by unmarried fathers which have not been registered in any central location. Should a father lose that declaration he has no proof of his guardianship. This is most unsatisfactory – it is akin to losing a marriage certificate and having no facility to acquire a copy.
If this Bill is enacted, it seems likely that there will be an increased demand on court services. It is essential therefore that a family court structure be established to cater for the outcome of the Bill and to ensure appropriate training for the judiciary who will be dealing with much more complex family and child law cases.
Margot Doherty is a founding member of Treoir. Over the past 30 years, she has worked as an information officer, writing many publications, and is now the policy officer and Assistant Chief Executive.
Unmarried parents and their extended families can contact Treoir for specialist information on the legal rights and responsibilities of unmarried parents, living together or not. To speak in confidence to an information officer call 1890 252 084 or you can email info@treoir.ie. This is a free service.
Visit the website and keep up to date with information by following Treoir on Facebook and Twitter.
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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.
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:
===========================================================================
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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