The treatment of Maurice McCabe should have rung alarm bells for Frances Fitzgerald, says Michael Clifford. The briefing informing Ms Fitzgerald of the press query was written by the deputy secretary in the department, Ken O’Leary. Ms Fitzgerald had been informed of the strategy and had been informed that the commissioner’s counsel was taking an “aggressive stance” toward Sgt McCabe. There had been an earlier discussion that Sgt McCabe might take control of the traffic unit in Mullingar. “To his mind, he had just heard that the garda commissioner was questioning his motives, attacking his character.

Source: Irish Examiner November 28, 2017 00:00 UTC