We owe McCabe family debt of gratitude
LAST week’s two-part RTE Primetime special on whistleblower Maurice McCabe was compelling viewing.
For those who had followed the saga over the years, most of the detail was already known and there was not too much in the way of revelation, however the documentary went behind the details and headlines and looked at the impact it had on Maurice McCabe personally, his wife Lorraine and their family.
What came out of the documentary was the strength of the man, his immense character and resilience in the face of huge pressure that would have broken a lesser man.
Former Sergeant Maurice McCabe was not the only impressive character as his wife, Lorraine was a rock of love and support throughout a horrific number of years in which his character and career was threatened by completely false allegations of the most vile nature.
That the McCabe family withstood all that was thrown at them and emerged the other side is remarkable. Not many would have been so fortunate.
Their ordeal could have had a much more tragic outcome, when you consider the sustained pressure they were subjected to.
It doesn’t about.
The two-part documentary, narrated by journalist Katie Hannon who has done remarkable work on this story for a number of years, featured a clip of Maurice McCabe and fellow Garda whistleblower John Wilson accepting an award at the People of the Year Awards in 2014. Maurice McCabe’s family, his wife, his five children and his father were present at the awards.
Having come through an ordeal at that point, he must have thought on that night that the worst was over, he had emerged vindicated and the award was
THEY WERE TAKEN TO THE VERY EDGE OF WHAT ANY PERSON OR FAMILY COULD SUSTAIN
bear thinking a public manifestation that he was believed as an honourable man. It is horrific to think what he had already endured at the hands of the organisation that he worked for, was only a forerunner of what was ahead of him and his family.
Maurice and Lorraine McCabe are remarkable people and in allowing this documentary access to their home, they have again shown that they have absolutely nothing to hide or fear. They were taken to the very edge of what any person or family could sustain by one of the most powerful bodies in this State.
They could quite easily have buckled and cracked in the face of such unrelenting and sustained vile allegations.
They have done us all a huge service and we wish their family a more peaceful future away from the public spotlight.