JUSTICE MINISTER CHARLIE Flanagan has apologised to Majella Moynihan, a garda who was interrogated and faced dismissal for having premarital sex with another garda, and for giving birth to a baby outside wedlock.

In an interview with RTÉ’s Documentary on One, Majella said that she feels she was pressured by the force into giving her baby David up for adoption.

Majella was charged with two counts of the Garda Síochána Regulations. She said she was “traumatised” by the questions she was asked about her sex life, her pregnancy, and her relationships. 

“I remember thinking ‘What are they doing?’, ‘Why am I being charged like a criminal?’ I did nothing wrong,” she told RTÉ.

In the aftermath of the RTÉ programme, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris issued an apology to Majella, who retired from the force several years after the birth.

Today, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan issued a statement:

“I have spoken to Commissioner Harris and I welcome his apology to Ms Majella Moynihan on behalf of An Garda Síochána. I echo that apology in my capacity as Minister for Justice and Equality.”

As a young Garda, Ms Moynihan faced an appalling ordeal at a time in Ireland that was sadly too often characterised by stigma and intolerance. What happened to her was clearly wrong on every level.