‘YOU DON’T SAY NO TO THE GARDA COMMISSIONER...’

THE explosive evidence provided by former PAC chairman John McGuinness the day before was being poked and prodded from every possible angle yesterday.

Every detail of his account of ex-Garda commissioner Martin Callinan referring to Sgt Maurice McCabe as a ‘kiddie-fiddler’, his Deepthroat-esque car park meeting, and the handwritten note that followed were put under the microscope, at the tribunal.

Micheál O’Higgins SC, for Martin Callinan, was on a clear mission to scrutinise every detail of McGuinness’s version of events.

‘Why did you agree to meet the commissioner? Why didn’t you go in for a coffee and make your notes there instead of driving home?’ he was asked.

The Kilkenny TD kept his cool. You don’t say no to the Garda Commissioner. He’s not a coffee drinker, and after what he was told, McGuinness just wanted ‘to get the hell out of there’.

The questioning then turned into an intensive probe on how he came to pull into the side of the road and write the note detailing exactly the allegations Callinan was levelling against McCabe.

He was asked why he had leaned on the passenger seat instead of the steering wheel to make the note, and pretty soon his entire process for making notes was under scrutiny.

McGuinness’ patience began to slip. ‘It may not be the most efficient process. But it has managed to get me elected for the last 31 years,’ he responded.

Despite coming under intense pressure, McGuinness did not alter his version of events.

And over the next hour, dragging him over the coals began to look like a wasted endeavour.

Text message records drew a clear line from Martin Callinan to the Secretary General of the Department of Justice, Brian Purcell. Just 12 minutes after the PAC meeting, in which Callinan referred to the whistleblowers as ‘disgusting’, had ended, the Garda chief received a text that read: ‘Well done, exceptional performance under fire. Brian.’

Another text made clear that Purcell was fully aware of Callinan’s meeting with McGuinness.

That will make uncomfortable reading for those who claimed the Department of Justice had no ‘hand, act or part’ in the Garda strategy in relation to McCabe.

A bad day at the office was about to get worse. Former PAC-member and Waterford TD John Deasy got into the stand, confirming that Callinan was the ‘senior garda’ he had referred to on Prime Time who had made ‘very derogatory comments’ about Sgt McCabe.

Deasy ‘couldn’t believe what he was hearing’ from Callinan in relation to Sgt McCabe. He, like McGuinness, had made his own mind up about the whistleblower and considered him an honest man. He noted that his grandfather had been a member of the force, and referenced the disappointment he would have felt if a serving commissioner had made those comments about him.

In Dublin Castle, day after day, the statements ‘he’s a kiddie-fiddler’, ‘a paedophile’, ‘not to be trusted’ are stuck on repeat.

Still, there Sgt McCabe sits, in quiet dignity, waiting for a six-year ordeal to end.