Fancy yourself as a private investigator?

November 1990

An advertisement in last week’s edition of this newspaper for a trainee private investigator had many people wondering whether the notice was for real.

Some readers whose attention was caught by the advertisement thought it had been inserted as a joke, but in the light of today’s advertising costs, that was hardly likely.

Anyway, in the manner of all the best sleuths, the Wexford Diary tracked down the people responsible, International Investigations Ireland Ltd., and discovered that they are, in fact, deadly serious.

Yes, the company run by founding director, Derek Nally, a former Detective Garda Sergeant in Wexford which operates offices in Dublin, Belfast, and Bunclody, is currently searching for a trainee private eye.

Ideally, the person should be between 23 and 35, and display a naturally curious nature with the determination and ability to work unusual and often tedious hours.

Anyone with their sights set on a glamourous career can forget it, according to Derek, whose investigations into the whereabouts of a missing person have just been filmed by Channel 4 television.

‘It’s not as exciting as it sounds. It’s not like ‘Magnum’ or ‘Moonlighting’. You might think that all there is to surveillance is waiting outside a driveway for a car to emerge and then following it for twenty-five miles without being noticed. That’s a load of codswallop.’

As for the Mountie-like belief that the private eye always gets his man, that’s another myth says Derek, whose company currently employs nine private investigators and six administrative staff.

Most of the work involves surveillance and comes mostly from corporate clients like insurance companies anxious to establish how bona fide certain claims are, as well as firms cracking down on internal thefts and fraud.

Anyone who feels that they can put up with ‘a lot of hanging around and a lot of boredom’ should apply without delay.

Similarly, anyone possessing the patience and forbearance to sit around in a ditch in the rain for hours on end shouldn’t hesitate to send off an application.

‘ There are three main requirements,’ says Derek in elaboration, ‘ the ability to be a good investigator, a good report writer, and a good witness in court.’

The successful applicant will be fully trained in all types of investigation techniques, including photography and video skills.