Last night.
The first half of ‘Whistleblower’, a documentary by Katie Hannon (top right) about Maurice McCabe’s fight against Gardai malfeasance, was broadcast on RTÉ One – featuring interviews with Sgt McCabe (top centre) and Lorraine McCabe (top left) and will conclude tonight at 9.35pm.
Watch back here
Meanwhile…
Further to a report in The Sunday Times by John Mooney last weekend…
In which Mr Mooney reported that the State is paying for the legal representation of former Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan in an action taken against him by Maurice McCabe, following an agreement finalised in mid-July…
After the Disclosures Tribunal heard evidence from Fianna Fail TD John McGuinness, Comptroller and Auditor General Seamus McCarthy, RTE journalist Philip Boucher Hayes and Fine Gael TD John Deasy that Mr Callinan spoke derogatorily to them about the now retired sergeant…
A petition has been set up on Uplift calling for the State not to do so.
The petition sets out the following reasons for why the State shouldn’t cover Mr Callinan’s legal costs:
1. The most senior Garda in the country knowingly and deliberately smeared a serving Garda who raised the shortcomings in performance of other Gardai.
2. The State already funded the Tribunal to establish the facts and the facts have vindicated Garda McCabe.
3. For the State to then indemnify the guilty party is further persecuting the McCabe’s and also means there is no consequence for the guilty party.
4. The Minister for Justice should review the former commissioners contract of employment to see what sanctions were possible for breach of contact for bringing the force into disrepute. If there is such a provision the State should then seek to review his retirement and pension arrangements and if necessary take action to recover costs borne by the State because of his scurrilous actions.
5. This sets a dangerous precedent, where employees of the State can ruin peoples lives with absolutely no consequence for their actions.
At the Disclosures Tribunal Judge Peter Charleton accepted Mr McGuinness’s evidence that Mr Callinan told him Sgt McCabe “fiddles with kids” and referred to both Sgt McCabe and former Garda John Wilson as “fucking headbangers” in January 2014.
He accepted that Mr Callinan told Mr McGuinness, during a meeting in a car park of Bewley’s Hotel on the Naas Road, Dublin, on Friday, January 24, 2014, that Sgt McCabe sexually abused his children and nieces.
And he accepted that Mr Callinan led him to believe there was a live investigation of some kind, causing Mr McGuinness to believe that charges against Sgt McCabe were imminent.
Judge Charleton accepted that Mr Callinan told Fine Gael TD John Deasy, on the way to a Public Accounts Committee meeting on Thursday, January 23, 2014, that Sgt McCabe was not to be believed or trusted with anything.
He also accepted the evidence of the Comptroller and Auditor General Seamus McCarthy – whose report into the quashing of penalty points was being discussed at that PAC meeting – that Mr Callinan told him Sgt McCabe was not to be trusted, that he had questions to answer, and that there were live allegations of sexual offences against him.
And he accepted that Mr Callinan told Mr Boucher-Hayes, before a broadcast of RTE’s Crimecall in December 2013, that Sgt McCabe was a “troubled individual” with a “lot of psychological issues and psychiatric issues”.
The petition can be signed here