Thread by @ElaineByrne

1. The #KerryBabies.

What happened to the Gardai who took Joanne Hayes' false confession?

2. Superintendent John Courtney was promoted to Chief Superintendent (after a period of desk duty).

Courtney was involved in the interrogation of Christy Lynch in 1976. His conviction for murder - based on a false confession - was overturned by the Supreme Court in 1981.

3. Supreme Court found that Lynch's confession could not possibly have been true & overturned his murder conviction. DPP v Christopher Anthony Lynch [1981] I.L.R.M. 389

Courtney was involved in over a hundred murder investigations throughout almost four decades on the force.

4. Courtney's glowing obituary in the Sunday Independent last year. His involvement in the #KerryBabies white-washed.

independent.ie/irish-news/a-t…

5. Sergeant Joseph Shelley was promoted to Superintendent (after a period of desk duty) - you may be beginning to detect a pattern here.

6. Shelly* took early retirement following the publication of the Morris tribunal report into Garda malpractice in Donegal. The Morris report sharply criticised Shelly’s leadership as "prejudiced, tendentious and utterly negligent."

7. "The alien came out of the sky and had sexual intercourse with Joanne Hayes, and I went up and murdered Richie Barron" - Frank McBrearty jnr's quip to Shelly during his cross-examination at the Morris Tribunal.

8. Detective PJ Browne was promoted to Superintendent (after a period of desk duty). #KerryBabies was no obstacle to the advancement of the gardaí involved, it seems.

Browne was employed by the Herald as a crime analyst/columnist.

9. Detective Gerry O’Carroll was promoted to Detective Inspector. (after a period of desk duty).

Four Gardai centrally involved in the #KerryBabies. All ultimately promoted.

10. O’Carroll is a Herald columnist. His book, Sheriff: A Detective's Story, was a best seller.

Joanne Hayes wrote a book too. O'Carroll, Browne & another Garda won damages for libel from Joanne’s publisher, Brandon publishers. The £100,000 payout almost bankrupted the company.

11. None of the 4 gardai ever apologised to Joanne Hayes. They were all promoted.

The only person that ever said sorry was Joanne.

In 1989 she & her book publisher had to put a special notice in the Sunday Independent, apologising to the Gardaí she had libelled in her book.

12. Then Garda Commissioner Lawrence Wren privately acknowledged the gardaí were “grossly negligent’’ in their conduct of the murder investigation into Baby John.

google.ie/amp/s/www.iris…

13. Fast forward 34 years.

What is the attitude of the now Garda Commissioner to allegations of wrongdoing by the Gardai?

Guess.

14. The acting Garda Commissioner
Dónall Ó Cualáin has decided not to pursue disciplinary action against gardai over the falsification of breath tests.

It is not “feasible”.

google.ie/amp/s/www.rte.…

15. Accountability, it appears, does not apply to the Gardai.

But Irish citizens are held accountable. Even for crimes they didn't commit.

16. One question.

How many murder convictions did the Garda “murder squad” get because of a *confession* and no other evidence?