I found Gilligan to be a strange little man...
JUDGE Gillian Hussey once said she was “not interested in the big criminal names”.
Yet she came across the biggest of them in her 18 years on the bench – including gang boss John Gilligan, notorious drug dealer Tony Felloni and paedophile priest Fr Tony Walsh.
In her new memoir, Hussey, who was born in Wexford and grew up in Dublin from the age of six, looks back on her time in Ireland’s criminal courts from 1984 to her 2002 retirement.
Her book, Lessons From The Bench, charts the start of her career in the Dublin district courts, where she worked in the Bridewell, the Children Court in Smithfield, and spent 16 years on the bench in Kilmainham.
Known as firm but fair, she earned the nickname Reverend Mother – but by the end of her time, she was known by those who came across her as Legend of the Bench.
In one of her first cases as Judge, Hussey came face to face with John Gilligan, also in the early days of his career.
Two detectives had witnessed Gilligan taking 250 videotapes from the back of his Hiace van, which was neither taxed nor insured.
They had seized the tapes and he wanted them back.
She said: “I watched Gilligan and found him to be a strange little man, constantly shrugging his shoulders, like a nervous tic. He was boastful, although relatively respectful of the court.”
He proudly told her he had never worked a day in his life.
This was enough to convince Hussey that he couldn’t possibly own the tapes, and she refused his request to have them back.
The next time she saw Gilligan he was before her on two charges – stealing a washing machine and receiving stolen goods.
Hussey sent his case to the higher courts, on one charge instead of the two.
It meant Gilligan got a shorter sentence than the Garda would have liked – and she puts this mistake down to her “lack of knowledge of the man and of the law”.
She later sought out the leading detective of Gilligan’s case, DI Felix Mckenna, to apologise for her error.
After the Gilligan case, Hussey describes meeting another crook in the earlier stages of their career, Tony Felloni, who would go on to be known as “King Scum”.
Hussey recalls Felloni’s wife Anne Flynn asking: “Am I up today?” When the answer was no, Anne said: “F*** it, I could have been uptown shoplifting.”
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He was boastful although relatively respecting JUDGE HUSSEY ON GILLIGAN IN COURTROOM
He had convicted himself by reaction to testimony JUDGE HUSSEY ON PERVERT WALSH
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The same day, Felloni was in on a drug charge, and would later go on to serve the longest drug-dealing sentence in Ireland’s history.
Another big name is crime lord Christy Kinahan, who appeared before Hussey in Kilmainham.
Hussey discusses Kinahan on “his final visit” to her court.
She recounts how Kinahan claimed he could not make his next scheduled hearing, because he was working.
When he explained that he was a carpenter, Hussey responded: “I wouldn’t want you around my house.”
One of her key cases is that of Father Tony Walsh – the notorious clerical child sex abuser – who landed in Hussey’s dock in 1995. Father Walsh was nicknamed The Singing Priest and appeared before her on station bail.
In Hussey’s own words, this was her finest moment on the bench, and she recounts how the real evidence she found was not in that presented to her, but by watching Walsh’s body language. Hussey describes the “absolute delight” Walsh took in listening to his victim, a 14-year-old boy, giving evidence.
By the end, Hussey concluded: “He had convicted himself with his reaction to the boy’s testimony.”
The difficulty of this case was that Walsh’s character witness was a prison officer, making the defence two professional, well-respected men.
Nonetheless, Walsh had convinced Hussey of his guilt, and she sentenced him to 12 months, before he was released on bail for an appeal. Accusations mounted against Walsh in the following years, and he was given a sentence of nine years for various sexual abuse charges.
In the years following her Walsh encounter, Hussey became heavily involved with child sexual abuse survivors, going on to become chair of the Catholic Church Commission on Child Sexual Abuse, or The Hussey Commission.
In 2002 she met with church authorities including then Archbishop Sean Brady on child protection issues.
However, no matter who was before her, Hussey’s firm in her belief in her role as judge was that everyone in the court – herself, Garda, victim, and accused – are simply ordinary people, and all deserve to have their voice heard. She concludes judges are not above anyone else, and describes how she was grateful for not having to wear a robe and wig, as is done in the higher courts. She believes in second chances and says background and upbringing do not define a person.
Hussey’s view is it’s never too late to turn a life around – and mentions the many graduations, weddings, and christenings she has gone to of former drug addicts whom she sentenced.
All proceeds from the sales of the book will go to social programmes Hussey has been cl osely involved with – such as the Crime Victims Helpline and Tiglin Rehabilitation Centres.
Lessons From the Bench, Gill Books, €16.99