Garda accused of interfering in prosecutions said he was following instructions

David Raleigh

A Garda accused of unlawfully interfering in pending road traffic prosecutions, told investigating gardaí he believed he was following directions from a superior when he contacted other gardaí enquiring if they could use their discretion in the cases.

Garda Colm Geary, Ennis Garda Station, is one of four gardaí, as well as a retired Superintendent, who are all on trial together on a total of 39 counts of allegedly engaging in conduct tending or intended to pervert the course of justice.

All five accused were arrested and charged in May 2021, following an investigation by the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (GNBCI) into alleged unlawful interference in potential road traffic prosecutions, which included alleged speeding, driving without insurance, and driving while holding a mobile phone.

Video-recorded footage of Garda Geary being voluntarily interviewed by the GNBCI investigators at Mayorstone Garda Station, Limerick, was played in court on Wednesday.

During the interview, GNBCI showed Gda Geary a transcript of text messages between his phone and co-accused, Superintendent Eamon O’Neill, now retired.

Garda Geary told GNBCI that Supt O’Neill sent him an image of a court summons in respect of a motorist accused of speeding.

The message thread between the two Garda phones were shown to the jury.

Garda Geary replied to the image sent by Supt O’Neill: “Rang that lad. He’s away for the week. He reckons he has all his cases adjourned until December. He will strike that out.”

Follow-up messages sent from Supt O’Neill’s phone to Gda Geary read: “Any hope?”...“Any luck with that lad?”... “My apologies for annoying you.”

A response text sent from Gda Geary’s phone to Supt O’Neill’s phone read: “Jesus, you’re grand, don't know what happened, he said he would square it, don’t know what happened.”

Another text from Gda Geary’s phone to Supt O’Neill’s phone stated that a motorist who had got a summons had been “sorted” and that the summons “didn’t go on the system”.

A reply text from Supt O’Neill’s phone read: “You're a topper.”

When asked by GNBCI what he thought was meant by the summons image that was allegedly sent from Supt O’Neill’s phone to his phone, Garda Geary replied: “I felt he was implying he wanted me to contact the garda in relation to the case. I followed up with the garda and told her the Superintendent was wondering could anything be done with the case.”

When asked what he believed ‘could anything be done’ that was mentioned in the text had meant, Gda Geary replied: “So that the case wouldn't go ahead, I presume that’s what he was getting at, I presume that’s what Eamon O’Neill wanted.”

When asked by GNBCI what he thought when he received the summons image from Supt O’Neill’s phone, Gda Geary replied: “It came from a Supt, I knew what he was implying.

"I made contact with the Garda on his behalf.” “He was a Superintendent, I knew that’s what he was implying and I didn’t ask any questions about it.”

“I assumed there was nothing untoward about the situation. I did what I was instructed,” Gda Geary told GNBCI.

“As I said before, he was a Superintendent. He implied that I do something, I did what he implied. I didn't question it because he was a superintendent,” reiterated Gda Geary.

The jury was shown another text message Gda Geary sent to Supt O’Neill’s phone, which read: “All good, being struck out”.

Garda Geary told GNBCI that the text messages and images allegedly sent by Supt O’Neill were, in his opinion, “not personal” but a request from a superior.

“It was a request from a Superintendent and I complied with the request,” said Gda Geary.

Asked by GNBCI if he knew whether or not a Garda Superintendent had the authority to strike out cases in a district court, Gda Geary initially stated, “I feel a bit out of my comfort zone,” and he said he could not answer the question.

On resuming the interview after consulting with his solicitor, Gda Geary was asked the same question and replied: “At the time, I was of the opinion that a Superintendent could strike out matters in court, I don't know why I didn’t say that before.”

When asked by GNBCI if he thought what he did was an issue, Gda Geary replied: “At the time, I didn't think there was a problem in a District Officer intervening or striking out a District Court proceedings.”

“The Superintendent looked for me to make contact with another member. I made contact with that other member. I informed him that a Supt was looking for help with the matter, that’s the best way I can say it,” Gda Geary continued.

When asked by GNBCI if he believed this amounted to perverting the course of justice, Gda Geary replied: “I certainly didn't think so.”

Asked if he would have done the same thing if he had believed it was wrong to do so, Gda Geary replied: “Definitely not.”

The prosecution has alleged that Mr O’Neill is central to their case, and what all of the alleged offences have “in common” was the alleged “interference or involvement of Eamon O’Neill”.

The other accused are Sergeant Anne Marie Hassett, Sergeant Michelle Leahy, and Garda Tom McGlinchey.

The trial continues before a jury of eight men and four women at Limerick Circuit Court.