A GARDA SUPERINTENDENT told the trial of serving gardai and a retired superintendent, accused of wrongdoing, that they were “to the fore” of protecting citizens from gangland criminals, honest, “humble and dependable”.

Supt John Ryan, Ennis Garda station, formerly Bruff, Limerick, gave evidence at the trial of retired Superintendent Eamon O’Neill, Sergeant Anne Marie Hassett, Sergeant Michelle Leahy, Garda Tom McGlinchey, Garda Colm Geary.

All five, charged following a two-year probe by the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (GNBCI) deny a total of 39 counts of unlawfully interfering in the prosecution of pending or potential road traffic offences, including speeding, driving without insurance, driving while holding a mobile phone.

Ryan who previously worked alongside described Geary and McGlinchey said they had been a “huge loss” to the force since they were suspended five years ago on foot of the allegations before the court.

Despite his suspension, Geary had successfully applied for promotion to Detective, which Ryan said was a position that awaited him pending the outcome of the trial.

“He (Geary) was good at what he did, he was respected by his colleagues and the community,” said Supt Ryan.

The witness told the court he knew McGlinchey to be a “straight person, humble, dependable” and a “good old fashioned Garda in a rural area, who knew the community he served”.

Ryan said retired superintendent Eamon O’Neill had been “to to the fore” of An Garda Síochána’s relentless pursuit of criminals involved in “feuding’ in Limerick.

‘Am I snookered’

The court was shown mobile phone text messages sent from All-Ireland winning senior Limerick hurler Sean Finn to Supt O’Neill after the hurler was caught allegedly speeding in his native Bruff on May 11, 2019.

Finn texted O’Neill: “Just got pulled in outside the secondary school in Bruff for speed. Anything that can be done, or am I snookered, kid?”

A thread of text messages between the two phones about who the prosecuting garda was and what he looked like, were also read out.

The court heard O’Neill forwarded Finn’s text to Tom McGlinchey, Murroe Garda Station.

A DVD recording of McGlinchey being interviewed under caution by GNBCI detectives on 7th October, 2019, was played in court.

McGlinchey told the investigating gardai that he had received a phone-call from O’Neill asking if he knew what Garda unit was working in Bruff “as someone had been stopped speeding”.

“He gave me the name Sean Finn, who I know to be a Limerick hurler. He (Eamon O’Neill) asked me to make a request on his behalf,” said McGlinchey.

“I spoke to the guard and made a request on behalf of Supt O’Neill,” he added.

The court heard Finn ultimately paid a fine in respect of the speeding summons. Finn is not one of the five people on trial accused of wrongdoing.

The trial has heard evidence that members of the public can legitimately ask a garda for advice on what to do in the event of receiving a court summonses.

The court heard McGlinchey received images of court summonses in respect of persons he did not know, from O’Neill, and forwarded these on to the prosecuting gardai on behalf of Superintendent O’Neill.

Asked by GNBCI what the prosecuting gardaí could have done about the summonses, McGlinchey replied: “There were two things they could do — they could leave the summons stand, or withdraw it.”

Chief Superintendent

The court also heard that Chief Superintendent, John Scanlon, Laois-Offaly Division, was interviewed, under caution, and in the presence of his solicitor, as part of the GNBCI probe on suspicion of attempting to pervert the course of justice in respect of two road traffic summonses.

Retired Detective Chief Superintendent Walter O’Sullivan, who led the GNBCI probe, gave evidence that he and Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll, now deceased, interviewed Chief Supt Scanlon, who he said was considered “a suspect” at the time.

The interview, which lasted 23 minutes, took place by appointment at the offices of the GNBCI, Harcourt Square, Dublin.

O’Sullivan said Scanlon, now retired, referred the questioning gardaí, to a statement he had prepared ahead of the interview.

O’Sullivan told the court he contacted Scanlon prior to their interview and informed him he suspected him of having attempted to pervert the course of justice.

O’Sullivan said that prior to the interview he sent Scanlon an itemised thread of text messages sent between his mobile phone and O’Neill’s phone.

A message sent from Scanlon’s phone to Supt O’Neill read: “Eamon, that’s a friend of mine, stopped for a seat belt in Oola. Could you enquire? If it’s too late, no problem.”

Asked by Felix McEnroy, senior counsel for O’Neill, what he thought of the text message, O’Sullivan replied, that in his opinion, it was “an attempt to pervert the course of justice”.

“By who?,” McEnroy asked.

“John Scanlon,” O’Sullivan replied.

“My interpretation is that it was to intervene, to stop a matter being processed or being put on the system,” added O’Sullivan.

The court heard Scanlon’s phone was not seized at any stage and was found to have had no case to answer.

O’Sullivan denied suggestions by McEnroy, that he had pursued O’Neill for alleged attempts to square road summonses after he had failed to bring charges against him in relation to other alleged matters which Supt O’Neill was found to have had no case to answer.

O’Sullivan also denied when put to him an allegation that, while he was a serving garda he had asked another garda if he could square/quash a road traffic summons issued to a motorist.

O’Sullivan said the garda was “mistaken”, and that he had “zero recollection” of it.

The trial continues Monday.