Recently retired Garda Sergeant handed prison sentence at Midlands court

A prison sentence was handed down to a recently retired Garda Sergeant at a sitting of Portlaoise District Court. 

Former Garda Sergeant Ciaran Whelan (52) with an address C/O Store Street Garda Station, Dublin was in court charged with seven counts of unauthorised use of a garda “covert car” which would have been used by the Divisional Drugs Unit based at Store Street Garda Station in Dublin for intelligence gathering. 

The court was told the defendant had argued that he brought the car, which couldn’t be parked at Store Street Garda Station due to the sensitive nature of the work it was used for,  on the 350km round trip to his home to keep it safe. 

“This car was not an unmarked car but was a covert car. It was used for observing or gathering intelligence in a covert way. Store Street Garda station is in a very high traffic criminal area in the sense that it was a very busy district, and the Garda station was ‘cheek by jowl’ with criminality going on in the environs…if a person was to park a covert vehicle in and around Store Street Garda station it could compromise the effectiveness of that vehicle,” the court was told.

The court heard authorisation from a District Officer or Chief Superintendent would have been required to take the car out of the garda district. The court was told the issue was investigated by GSOC on foot of a protected disclosure. 

The defendant had told a previous court sitting that there had been issues with finding a suitable parking space for the car near the station. 

At the previous court sitting, he said Superintendent Tomás Gormley, who had been his superior, may have been mistaken in saying there was designated parking for the car or a second vehicle used for similar work. The defendant had said it was “up to us” to find parking for both of them. 

Judge Andrew Cody said at that sitting the defendant had said “Superintendent Gormley asked him 15 or 20 times over the six to seven months to get the car away from the station and Superintendent Gormley didn’t care where he put it so long as it got away from the station. He said he was told in no uncertain terms to move the car without offering a location where to park it.” 

The defendant told the previous court sitting that he tried everything but couldn’t find a suitable location to park the car. 

“He said he would leave his private car at the station and take this car home and he knew it could be seen as taking some sort of advantage. He said there was no evidence of one cent of diesel being unaccounted for nor is there one cent of toll charges being unaccounted for. He said he was saving mileage on his own car but wasn’t getting it for nothing he was paying for the diesel and paying for the toll bridge,” explained Judge Cody.

“Superintendent Gormley’s evidence was clear that there was no authority, express or implied, to have this vehicle at the toll bridge on these dates. Sergeant Whelan agreed that there was no express authority but there was implied authority by virtue of the instruction of Superintendent Gormley to park the vehicle elsewhere other than the Garda Station and Sergeant Whelan believed that his only option was to park the vehicle at his home some 175kms from Store Street Garda Station and to do so involved the car being driven on a 350 km round trip,” said Judge Cody.  

The charges, which were prosecuted under Section 112(1) of the Road Traffic Act, took place at the Motorway Toll  Bridge, Fatyharnagh, Mountrath on October 14, 15, 21, 22, 28, 29 and 30 in 2020 when the defendant was a serving member of An Garda Síochána. 

The prosecution was taken by the DPP and the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC). 

Details of the case had been heard before Tullamore District Court last March and Judge Andrew Cody finalised the case at Portlaoise District Court on Thursday.  

Investigating officer Martin Wynne of the Protected Disclosures Unit at GSOC travelled to the M7/M8 Toll Plaza on December 2, 2020 and collected CCTV footage of the defendant travelling through the toll bridge. 

He then asked Chief Superintendent Patrick McMenamin to nominate someone who could identify the driver and Superintendent Tomás Gormley, who was in charge of the Divisional Drugs Unit in Store Street at the time of the offending, was nominated. He was shown nine clips of CCTV and positively identified the defendant in eight of them. 

Judge Cody noted that the defendant admitted he hadn’t told any gardaí at Store Street station that he was taking the car home.  

“There could be only one reason why Sergeant Whelan did not tell his Superior Officer or any other member of An Garda Síochána stationed in Store Street Garda Station that he was driving home this vehicle and that is that he knew that he had no authority to do so,” he said. 

“Having considered the evidence in its totality, I am satisfied that there were no grounds upon which Sergeant Whelan could reasonably conclude that there was no alternative but that he was required to take this vehicle home with him. 

Accordingly, the court is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Sergeant Whelan was driving the particular vehicle without lawful authority in the dates in question, and accordingly convicts Sergeant Whelan on all charges,” said Judge Cody. 

Defence Counsel David Staunton BL said his client had been a member of An Garda Síochána for 29 years. He said he was attested in October 1994 and had served in Cavan and Monaghan before serving in Galway and then in Dublin. 

He said the defendant had a long involvement in drug units within An Garda Síochána and had been involved in significant high profile investigations. He said the defendant was in court supported by his wife. 

Mr Staunton said the defendant has no previous convictions and he asked the court to take into account his long service and duty to the public. 

Judge Cody noted the accused had retired from An Garda Síochána on April 26, 2024. He said the defendant as a garda had a duty to uphold the law. 

He said An Garda Síochána must have the trust and confidence of the public. A  “position of trust comes with responsibilities” and “he must be above suspicion or reproach,” he remarked. 

“I do not accept that this was an offence where there was no gain,” he said. 

Judge Cody estimated that the car would have travelled approximately 1,000km per week. He said over a year that would be 40,000 kms and consequently 40,000kms less mileage on his own vehicle. This, he said, amounted to a gain for the defendant and a loss to the State. 

The defendant was not entitled to a discount for an early plea as the case was contested, Judge Cody explained. He said the court had some sympathy for the defendant in that he had served the State. The judge also acknowledged that “prison will not be easy for him” given his background. 

He sentenced the defendant to four months in prison with the final two suspended.  He also imposed a three year driving disqualification. Recognisance was fixed in case of appeal. The case was appealed before the end of the court sitting.