THE DETECTIVE GARDA who was at the centre of the ‘bikegate’ scandal and seven gardaí from Limerick who were pursued over the termination of tickets have received a standing ovation at the Garda Representative Association (GRA) conference this morning in Westport.

Eamonn Cunnane, who is the garda who was wrongly accused of stealing a bike, suspended for three years and later cleared of all allegations, stood with the seven other gardai who were “wrongly suspended for years” from the county Limerick and County Clare.

Frank Thornton, a Limerick GRA representative described their treatment as a “living nightmare” that has left “morale on the floor” among the force. 

He claimed it was caused by an intransigence in garda management. 

Five of the Limerick gardaí were charged with perverting the course of justice for using their power of discretion to terminate road traffic tickets. Two of the members from the mid-west were never charged, having been cleared of wrongdoing by the Director of Public Prosecutions. However, they continued to be suspended.

Thornton said the impact goes further than the gardaí who were subject of the NBCI investigation.

“There’s no trust there and there couldn’t be,” he said. 

“We did our jobs diligently, professionally as society wanted. They want discretion. They wanted the guard to use their discretion, and that’s what we did. But somebody somewhere decided that was never going to happen anymore.

“Now society doesn’t want that, so it’s policing with deaf ears then, and it’s management with deaf ears, and that’s not acceptable,” he said. 

The GRA voted unanimously for a motion calling for a public inquiry to examine the garda handling of the cases. 

 The men who stood alongside him were accused of perverting the course of justice in relation to road incidents.

Eamon Cunnane, the garda at the centre of Bikegate. CONOR Ó MEARÁIN CONOR Ó MEARÁIN

Michael Ryan, a Westmeath GRA representative, said that all of these men endured “severe trauma” and he led a motion calling for An Garda Síochána to introduce an independent appeals process for members who face suspension.

This is the first time that the garda at the centre of the bike case has been publicly identified, and he and his colleagues received a standing ovation from colleagues as they took to the stage.

On Cunnane’s behalf, Ryan told the full story of his suspension, the criminal investigation he was placed under, and the toll it took on him and his entire family.

“This is the story of a garda who, during Covid-19, loaned a bicycle to a member of the local community at a time when so many people were isolated.

He said that it was an act of “kindness, goodwill and community policing at its best” and that the “understanding was straightforward” and that the bike would be returned to the station when normal life “resumed” after the pandemic.

Ryan added that Cunnane “was and is an honourable man” with over 30 years of service.

He said that what Cunnane was subjected to next was a “shameful stain” on the reputation of An Garda Síochána.

The moment Gardaí from Limerick who were suspended for five years along as part of a flawed NBCI investigation with Det Gda Eamon Cunnane, the Garda at the centre of Bikegate in which he was investigated for giving a bicycle to a farmer. @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/MfTzvYZrga

— Niall O’Connor (@NiallJournal_ie) April 21, 2026

On a June morning in 2020 “a loud bang” was heard at Cunnane’s front door, and six members of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigations (NBCI) were there with a court-issued warrant to seize Cunnane’s phone for examination.

Ryan said Cunnane has not known he was under investigation prior to this, adding that his wife Jackie had to Google who the NBCI were as she had no idea who the officers who remained at her home “for two hours” were.

Ryan said Cunnane explained where the bike was – in a neighbour’s house – and offered to go and retrieve it – which he then did accompanied by NBCI officers.

Cunnane was subsequently suspended “and left languishing for three years” despite the Director of Public Prosecutions directing that no charges should be brought against him after 10 months.

At that time his mother had been diagnosed with a terminal illness, and he was her main carer.

Ryan said that during the final weeks of Cunnane’s mother’s life, he was placed under “immense” stress, and he lost “precious time with her” that “can never be recovered”.

He further said that when Cunnane was allowed to return to work in 2023, he was hidden away from the public and not allowed to resume normal duties.

Ryan said that comments then made by former Garda Commissioner Drew Harris which suggested that the “full” story of the bike scandal had not been made public once again cast a shadow over Cunnane.

He said that the entire suspension system is “seriously flawed” and urgently needs to be reviewed.