Just weeks before his 100th birthday and after a struggle for over 70 years, an Irishman living in Manhattan may finally gain access to the evidence which resulted in his dismissal from the Garda Siochana in 1928.
Following a request under the Freedom of Information Act by the family of William Geary, and enquiries by The Irish Times, the Department of Justice is examining Mr Geary's files with a view to releasing them on what a spokeswoman for the Taoiseach described as "humanitarian grounds".
Mr Geary was a Garda superintendent in Kilrush, Co Clare, when on June 26th, 1928, he was sacked for allegedly accepting a £100 bribe from the IRA. It is an accusation he denies vehemently. He was never charged, or given a trial or disciplinary hearing, and emigrated in disgrace to New York later that year.
For seven decades he has been unable to defend himself. Successive governments have refused to provide him with the evidence that resulted in the loss of his job. He made numerous requests and lobbied successive ministers for justice to no avail.
This week, however, a spokeswoman for the Taoiseach's office told The Irish Times the records of the Government's decision to dismiss Mr Geary were being released immediately, and the Department of Justice was being asked to examine sympathetically the substantive file on the case, with a view to releasing it to him.
Yesterday Mr Geary said: "I think it's a good idea but it's a little tardy, don't you think? I'd like to have been able to answer that question 70 years ago."
He hopes the Government will make a decision on the file before his 100th birthday on February 28th.