Mr Justice Frank Clarke to inquire into Gsoc investigation following death of officer

Supreme Court judge Mr Justice Frank Clarke has been appointed to conduct an inquiry following the death of Garda Sgt Michael Galvin in Donegal last month.

The officer took his own life in Ballyshannon Garda Station on May 28th.

He had been questioned by the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc) as part of an examination into garda interaction with Sheena Stewart, on January 1st, 2015, shortly before she was killed in a road traffic collision.

Gsoc has said no complaints were made against father-of-three Sgt Galvin following the incident on January 1st, and that senior gardaí in Donegal had simply taken the routine step of referring the case on for external review.

“Gsoc’s investigation concluded the following week and found no evidence of a criminal offence or a breach of discipline by any Garda member,” it said.

It said the parties involved in such an inquiry would normally be updated upon conclusion of the investigation, and would receive a further update upon the issuance of the Director of Public Prosecution’s final decision.

Sgt Galvin had not heard the outcome of Gsoc’s investigation.

Mr Justice Clarke will conduct an inquiry under section 109 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005. He will examine the conduct of Gsoc during its investigation into Ms Stewart’s death.

Under the legislation, the judge may conduct the inquiry as he thinks proper, including deciding whether or not to call witnesses. He can enforce the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents and can hold the inquiry in private.

Announcing the appointment on Friday, Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald said she was grateful to Mr Justice Clarke for agreeing to conduct the inquiry, "which will be given the necessary resources to carry out its work efficiently and effectively".

She said after consultation with Gsoc and the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, she decided to initiate the inquiry and wrote to Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Susan Denham, requesting her to invite a judge of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal or the High Court to conduct it.

Ms Fitzgerald said the tragic events giving rise to it, “involving the deaths of two people in greatly different circumstances”, had been widely reported and she asked that the inquiry be given “the time and space to look into all relevant matters and to come to its conclusions”.

No time frame has been stipulated for its completion.