A confidential garda ‘investigation’ into the Sallins Case was conducted by Gardai but never announced to the media, or the public.
Two senior Gardai were delegated to make inqueries about allegations of torture made by the Sallins Men and international human rights groups and others across the media and civil society.
The Gardai interviewed all Gardai involved in the case. Their investigation only consisted of asking two questions.
- Who did you interview?
2. Did you beat them?
All the gardai interviewed followed advice from the Central Detective Unit to answer “No” to the second question.
The Senior Gardai, Superintendent Robinson (Store St) and Superintendent Henley (Fitzgibbon St) reported their findings and the matter was put to rest. From then on the Gardai and Governments could say they had investigated the allegations and found them baseless.
As far as the then Justice Minister, and all Justice Ministers and Taoisigh to date, are concerned that is the end of that.
This information was gleaned reluctantly from Det Tomas Fitzgerald during the first trial of the Sallins Men.
The Sallins Men chose to break with republican tradition when confronting the State’s repressive campaign against them as human rights activists and political dissidents. Opposing the Sallins frame-up in court they exposed inconsistencies on a daily basis, making nonsense of the eventual findings and convictions.
And what of the actual outcome of the ‘inquiry’ conducted by the two Superintents?
Chief Superintentent John Joy testified that ‘the file was submitted to Garda Headquarters and lost.’
GARDA PERJURY, DESTRUCTION OF EVIDENCE AND CRIMINALITY
Other important files and evidence in the Sallins Case cover-up continue to disappear from State custody, including textual analysis evidence that exposes the individual Gardai who, criminally, wrote the ficticious statements attributed to the Sallins Men and who, criminally, perjured themselves to the Director Of Public Prosecutions and later in a number of courts.
