Thurles Information

Garda Sergeant Ciaran Whelan, aged 51 years, an officer in Store Street Station in central Dublin, with an address in Nenagh, North Co. Tipperary, has appeared in court charged with multiple criminal offences.

Sgt. Whelan, one of a number of police officers who appeared on the RTÉ show ‘The Guards’, latter a documentary on inner city front line policing, will stand trial accused of the false imprisonment of a woman; perverting the course of justice, and burglary in Dublin.

In all, Sergeant Whelan faces seven charges, which include:-

• Two charges of burglary; one at a property on Kenilworth Road, Dublin 6, on June 19th, 2021, and also a flat in Mountjoy Square North, Dublin 1.
• Four charges of perverting the course of justice; amending the Garda Pulse system on September 27th, 2021; printing and creating a search warrant on August 28th, 2021; making a false report between August 25th, 2021 and September 15, 2021 to a superintendent with intent to pervert the course of justice regarding the search of the property at Kenilworth Road, Dublin 6, that took place on June 19, 2021, and creating an incident on Pulse on August 28th, 2021 in relation to a search on Kenilworth Road that took place on June 19th, 2021
• One charge of false imprisonment of a woman at St John’s Road West, Dublin 8, on September 7, 2021. These offences are alleged to have taken place in different parts of Dublin between June and September of the same year.

The Garda Anti-Corruption Unit have been investigating the activities of a particular Garda unit based in the Dublin region. Sgt Whelan was arrested at 9:57am on March 11th last, at Irishtown Garda Station in south central Dublin and was charged at the same location at 10:08am.

The Director of Public Prosecutions has directed that the case should be heard in front of a judge and jury at the circuit court.

Two other Gardai, namely Garda Mark Duffy, (with an address in west Co. Dublin), and Garda Colum Ryan (with an address in Co. Meath), have both also appeared in court in connection with this same investigation.

On Wednesday last, a former Labour Party Councillor and Peace Commissioner, latter named as Mr Steven Wrenn, aged 50 years, was also in court accused with forging warrants to search two properties; a basement flat at Mountjoy Square, Dublin and property at Kenilworth Road, Dublin 6, thus twice perverting the course of public justice by signing same warrants.

Mrs Mary Lowry, aged 57 years, with an address at Green Road, Dundrum, Co Tipperary; latter previously a witness who was central to the Mr Moonlight murder trial, today received a fully suspended one year jail sentence and a one year driving ban.
Mrs Lowry had previously admitted to a charge of careless driving, while in control of a Volkswagen Passat motor vehicle, which had, sadly, caused the death of father-of-five, named as Mr Patrick Connolly, at around 12:45pm on December 28th, 2021 last.

The fatal collision had occurred on the N24 Waterford to Limerick road, close to an entrance to Bansha Wood, Spring House, Bansha, Co Tipperary.

Mrs Lowry wept silently in court as her barrister, Mr Pádraig de Búrca (BL), read a letter of apology penned by Mrs Lowry to the deceased man’s family, seeking their forgiveness.

The court was informed that Mrs Lowry had waited for other traffic travelling on the N24 to pass by the entrance to Bansha Woods, and on believing the coast was fully clear, turned out of the entrance onto the N24, colliding with a motorcycle being driven by Mr Connolly, latter who was carrying his son on the pillion. Both had been participating in a charity bike event.

A Garda forensic report into the collision stated that road conditions and visibility were both good on the date in question, but that Mrs Lowry had failed to yield to traffic travelling on that stretch of roadway.
This report also stated that Mr Connolly might have been more visible to Mrs Lowry, had he been wearing a high visibility jacket at the time of the tragic incident.

Senior counsel Mr Colman Cody stated that Mrs Lowry was a volunteer support worker with cancer patients and people with disabilities; herself having lost her own husband tragically to cancer, and he argued before Judge Ms Catherine Staines that jailing her would serve no real purpose.

The case concluded with Mrs Lowry thanking the judge, before leaving the court in obvious distress.