EMAIL TRAIL – SO HARD TO REMEMBER
MAY 13, 2015
John Barrett, head of Garda human resources, says he was shocked when a senior colleague told him they were going to ‘go after’ Sgt Maurice McCabe at the O’Higgins Commission. Mr Barrett said Cyril Dunne, former Garda head of administration, made the remark at the tail end of a meeting. Mr Dunne, who is still due to give evidence, will deny the remark. Mr Barrett also said that at an earlier meeting attended by the Garda commissioner and other senior gardaí, he was warned to be cautious with Sgt McCabe as the sergeant might record the conversation.
MAY 13, 2015
Frances Fitzgerald denies that the infamous email – which she at first claimed not to have read and now remembers reading – ‘was an orange warning light’. The email from Michael Flahive – an assistant secretary in the Department of Justice – outlined details of a row that had emerged at the O’Higgins Commission over the Garda legal strategy towards Sgt McCabe.
JUNE 2, 2015
A freshly disclosed email reveals a GSOC report was compiled for Ms Fitzgerald, informing her that an allegation of sexual assault against Sgt McCabe had been referred to at the commission. The email, written by Martin Power, a principal officer in the Garda division of the Department of Justice, was sent to Mr Flahive for the attention of Ms Fitzgerald.
JULY 4, 2015
Assistant secretary general Ken O’Leary writes to Ms Fitzgerald to tell her: ‘The Garda commissioner phoned me to let me know they had received queries’ on the Garda’s strategy from journalists.’ He specifically advises her how to respond if questioned ahead of an interview on RTÉ’s This Week. In the end, the issue isn’t raised.
MAY 18, 2016
Nóirín O’Sullivan emails Ms Fitzgerald about the commission and includes a draft speech for Ms Fitzgerald, who was due to address the Dáil on the matter. She suggests the minister tell the Dáil that at no point did she [O’Sullivan] instruct her legal team to accuse Sgt McCabe of malice. Ms Fitzgerald says she ignored her advice.
MAY 19, 2016
The women meet and discuss the just-published O’Higgins Report. The minister says she asked Ms O’Sullivan if one thing was being said in public and another in private in relation to the approach to Sgt McCabe at the commission. The minister said there was no reference to the 2015 emails about the Garda legal strategy at the commission, the ones she had forgotten reading.