A PRE-TRIAL of a retired Garda Superintendent and four serving gardaí, who are each accused of attempting to pervert the course of justice, has today been adjourned until tomorrow, due to a national one-day industrial action by criminal law barristers.
Edmond “Eamon” O’Neill, (56), retired Garda Superintendent, Limerick Garda Division, Sergeant Annemarie Hassett, (39), Kerry Division, Sergeant Michelle Leahy, (47), and Garda Tom McGlinchey, (51), both of the Limerick Division, and Garda Colm Geary, (36), Clare Division, are charged with a total of 42 criminal counts relating to the alleged squaring away of fixed charge penalty notices for a number of people.
The charges against the five accused arose out of a probe led by the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (GNBCI) into alleged corruption in office by members of An Garda Síochána.
A pre-trial into the consideration of alleged evidence against the five accused, was scheduled to open today.
Liam Sheridan, a principal prosecutor at the office of the Director of Public prosecutions (DPP), applied to Limerick Circuit Court to have the pretrial adjourned.
“Given today’s (industrial) action, the prudent thing would be to adjourn it to tomorrow’s list of cases,” Sheridan told the court.
Presiding Judge, Tom O’Donnell, heard that all sides were in agreement with an adjournment until tomorrow and he granted the application.
When the case was mentioned in court last June, Judge O’Donnell asked counsel on all sides to consider issues of commonality in an effort to move the case forward.
The court heard that issues around mobile phone data and the execution of a search warrant will form a significant part of the pre-trial.
The allegations relate to dates between 9 October 2016 and 6 September 2019.
The five accused have been granted legal aid to cover the cost of a junior and senior counsel as well as a documentary junior counsel to manage what was described in court as a “complex” case.
The court was previously told that the accused’s trial was expected to last up to eight weeks before a jury at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court.
All five accused were returned for trial to the Circuit Court in July 2021.
A date for their trial has yet to be set.
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