A retired Garda detective who was involved in the "Kerry babies" case in 1984 was interviewed on RTE radio yesterday about his career in the controversial Murder Squad.
During the programme a number of people, including the Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, rang in on air to wish retired inspector Mr Gerry O'Carroll well.
Mr O'Carroll was not asked about his role, or that of the Garda, in the charging of the young Co Kerry woman and members of her family in connection with the death of an infant found on Cahirciveen Strand in April 1984.
The young woman was charged with murder on the basis of alleged statements which, gardai claimed, she made voluntarily while in prison charged with murder. Blood tests showed she could not have been the mother of the baby on the strand.
The woman had, in fact, given birth but her child had died and was buried in the farm where she lived. When the body of this infant was found, an inquiry was held and the charge of murder against her dropped.
The findings of the inquiry were inconclusive. Gardai insisted that the statements in which they alleged the innocent family had admitted the murder of the baby on the strand were true.
During yesterday's RTE interview with Joe Duffy, Mr O'Carroll spoke of working on a number of other murder cases in recent times.
He said he was convinced a "very devious and clever" serial killer had murdered a number of women in the Leinster area. He claimed the killings had been investigated by the most professional people yet they had not found "a scintilla" of evidence.
According to senior Garda sources close to these murder investigations, a man suspected of carrying out murders in the Leinster area is in custody on very serious charges.