THE head of the Garda Press Office told a trial that he received information from a senior investigator about the detention of a superintendent, despite the investigator telling the trial he did not contact anyone from the Garda Press Office about it.
Head Garda press officer Superintendent Liam Geraghty was giving evidence in the trial of retired Superintendent Eamon O’Neill and four serving Gardaí, who are accused of unlawfully interfering in potential or pending road traffic prosecutions – charges all five deny.
The four serving Gardaí on trial are Sergeant Anne Marie Hassett, Sergeant Michelle Leahy, Garda Colm Geary, Garda Tom McGlinchey.
Supt Geraghty said his recollection of the 2019 arrest of Supt O’Neill was that Chief Supt Walter O’Sullivan, then head of the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation that made the arrest, had updated him about Supt O’Neill’s detention.
Jim O’Mahony, senior counsel for Sgt Hassett, put it to Supt Geraghty that Mr O’Sullivan had previously told the trial that he had no involvement in press statements or press briefings in respect of Supt O’Neill’s arrest.
“I certainly had conversations with him (Mr O’Sullivan),” Supt Geraghty replied.
“I was in conversations with him about whether or not persons were still detained or not,” said Supt Geraghty, who was called to give evidence by counsel for Mr O’Neill.
Mr O’Mahony reiterated that Mr O’Sullivan had “led us to believe he had no involvement good bad or indifferent” in press briefings and therefore “he has to be wrong”.
Supt Geraghty replied: “I gave my statement, that’s where I was getting my info.”
On December 4, Walter O’Sullivan told the trial he was reporting back to an assistant commissioner but that he was not directly involved in press statements/briefings, and that he did not contact the media nor anyone in the Garda Press Office.
“I didn’t look for a press release. I didn’t look for contact with the press. I had no contact with the Garda Press Office. I had no contact with any other press,” Mr O’Sullivan told the trial.
Supt Geraghty agreed with Felix McEnroe, senior counsel for Mr O’Neill, that there was “nothing unusual” about a senior Garda contacting the Garda Press Office with updates about investigations.
Supt Geraghty told the trial the arrest of any members of an Garda Síochána, particularly a senior ranking Garda, was of “significant public interest”.
He agreed with prosecution barrister, senior counsel Carl Hanahoe, that if the Garda Press Office released statements to the media about the arrest of ordinary members of the public, then it also had an obligation to issue press releases about the arrest of Gardaí.
He agreed with Mr Hanahoe that if the press office did not release statements about the arrest of a Garda, this could expose An Garda Síochána to claims of “seeking to cover up or keep quiet” investigations into Garda members.
John Byrne, senior counsel for Garda McGlinchey, put it to Supt Geraghty that the Garda Press Office did not release any statement about another senior Garda, Chief Supt John Scanlon, now retired, having being interviewed by Mr O’Sullivan and Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll as “a suspect” in the investigation into road traffic matters for which Chief Scanlon was eventually found to have no case to answer.
Supt Geraghty said neither he nor anyone in the Garda Press Office had been aware of Chief Scanlon’s interview under caution and pointed out that Chief Scanlon had not been arrested at any stage of the probe.
The trial continues Monday.