Ex-commissioner warmly greets the ‘whistleblower’ – and recalls dilemma

IT WAS an unlikely venue for the unveiling of a “new Irish Trinity”. But in essence this was how former Garda commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan saw her tricky role trying to deal with Sergeant Maurice McCabe in early summer of 2015.

Through her four hours of testimony to the Disclosures Tribunal at Dublin Castle, she evoked an image of serious under-staffing in senior police ranks grappling with diverse challenges, leading a force “punchdrunk from being pilloried” about allegations of bad practice and corruption, while also trying to deal with a series of inquiries and commissions.

At the heart of this slow tribunal process lies a key question: was then-Commissioner O’Sullivan publicly praising the country’s best-known Garda whistleblower, Maurice McCabe, while her legal representatives and senior colleagues were also privately trying to do him down?

In prolonged calm and measured exchanges with tribunal lawyer Kathleen Leader, Ms O’Sullivan tried hard to explain how it looked to her. This was where the “new Irish Trinity entered”.

Former commissioner O’Sullivan said she was dealing with Sgt McCabe on three levels: he was an employee of the police force she was recently appointed to lead; he was a whistleblower entitled to protection and the fullest hearing; and now he was a key witness at an inquiry, held in private and chaired by Judge Kevin O’Higgins.

Interestingly, when the proceedings broke for lunch yesterday, Ms O’Sullivan approached Sgt McCabe and his wife, Lorraine. The trio exchanged handshakes and chatted affably for some moments, and at close of proceedings, Ms O’Sullivan and Ms McCabe again chatted for a time.

The interest in those exchanges turns on Ms O’Sullivan’s evidence yesterday over her decision, acting on the advice of lawyers for An Garda Síochána, to question Sgt McCabe’s motivation and credibility in his allegations against Garda colleagues. Ms O’Sullivan said it was not an easy one and she feared it would change Sgt McCabe’s perception of her.

Tribunal lawyer Ms Leader drew attention to a letter from Sgt McCabe’s immediate boss, Supt Alan Murray, days after that private commission hearing under Judge O’Higgins.

The letter noted that Sgt McCabe wanted to step down as sergeant in charge of the Mullingar traffic corps as “he did not feel safe” and he cited Ms O’Sullivan as the reason for this.

There was some pretty prolonged to-ing and fro-ing about calls by Ms O’Sullivan to the man charged with liaising with the O’Higgins Commission, and to the most senior officials at the Justice Department.

Ms O’Sullivan contended that it was a pretty busy time, there was to be a visit by the Prince of Wales, and there were very sensitive contacts with the UK security services about a threatened subversive attack related to this.

Ms O’Sullivan was insistent that contacts with senior officials in the Justice Department were pretty regular occurrences.

It was important to keep the department officials abreast of issues which had potential political ramifications.

By summer 2015 the Maurice McCabe case was replete with political implications.

It was widely pursued in all media.

The tribunal lawyer was keen to know what priority Ms O’Sullivan gave other issues, for which there were other personnel, while there was a big decision to be made about how to approach Sgt McCabe’s cross-examination at the O’Higgins Commission. The former Commissioner conceded that time and personnel shortages made everything less than ideal. Day one slowly drew to a close.