Tribunal hears garda saw ‘no malice toward whistleblower’

A GARDA sergeant has told the Charleton Tribunal that he never experienced any malevolence or malice towards garda whistleblower Sergeant Maurice McCabe.

The tribunal is looking into claims that false allegations of sexual abuse were used as part of a campaign to smear Sergeant McCabe.

Yesterday, Sergeant Tony Byrne said he was one of five or six garda sergeants who arrived in Bailieboro, Co. Cavan, in 2010.

He said there was a a good working atmosphere in the station in the six and a half years he was there.

Asked by the tribunal chairman Peter Charelton if there was any ‘sense of malice’ towards Sgt McCabe, he said that Sgt McCabe had left the area when he transferred in.

He said he had never experienced it and had never met the sergeant until he saw him at the tribunal.

‘I can’t say there was any malevolence or malice towards him, I never experienced it,’ he said.

Sgt Byrne said he was aware of issues regarding complaints from Sgt McCabe ‘about the standards of policing’ in Baileboro and that there were ongoing Garda inquiries as a result.

He said there had been discussion about the penalty points allegations and pulse records and he had never heard discussion about the abuse allegation.

Separately at the tribunal, Judge Charleton ordered that members of the public would be excluded from the tribunal next week when evidence of the woman, referred to as Ms D gives evidence. Ms D is the woman who made allegations against Sgt McCabe.

Judge Charleton ordered that she and her family’s evidence should not be held in public and that her identity should not be revealed.

Her lawyers had earlier sought reporting restrictions.

Lawyers for Sgt McCabe argued that her evidence should be held in public.