A FEW months ago a pall of fatalism seemed to have settled over the Garda Siochana. As one "contract killing" in Dublin followed the next, sometimes within hours rather than days, gardai wondered at their ability to deal with major criminals.
A series of other serious crimes, such as the notorious rape and murder of a woman on the city's northside, were proving difficult to solve.
The city's "drug barons" flaunted their disregard for the law and their trade grew busier.
Morale was not boosted by continuing arguments between the two rival associations at garda rank.
No matter what issue arose, the groups seemed to take opposing sides, so the impact of criticism of Government or Garda management was lost in the language of trade union in fighting.
In May the previous Garda Commissioner, Mr Patrick Culligan, added to the malaise when he attacked the Garda Representative Association for claiming gardai were being unfairly dismissed.
"In 1995 we lost two gardai who simply abandoned their job. We also lost a flasher, a dealer in pornography, a man who failed to carry out an essential duty and a garda convicted of assault".
On their own his words were not damaging, but against the background of high profile and unsolved serious crimes, they added to the force's air of gloom.
Now, despite the emergence of even more serious allegations against individual gardai, there is a new air of confidence in the force.
The new Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, 100 days in office on Monday, is due some credit for the turnaround and will probably not shrink from taking it.
But he would acknowledge that, like the generals favoured by Napoleon, he is also lucky: several factors have come together to rebuild confidence during his watch.
A factor which has worked in his favour has been the political resolve to confront serious and "organised crime".
THE murder of the journalist Veronica Guerin in June, following closely on that of Det Garda Jerry McCabe in Limerick, led to legislative "crime packages".
These featured measures which politicians previously deemed impossible: seven day detention for drugs traffickers, a doubling of recruitment at garda rank and tough anti money laundering laws.
The Government has set up the new Criminal Assets Bureau, a Garda led unit including Revenue Commissioners and Social Welfare personnel aimed at depriving the most successful criminals of their wealth.
In November a referendum on bail, if passed, will allow a court to refuse bail if it can be shown that the person concerned is likely to re offend.
The Government has embarked on a prison building programme, aiming to add about 800 places to the current 2,200.
Criticism of the force would increase if it was shown that despite these measures the Garda was making no inroads into major criminal networks. But the evidence indicates that the prime drug cartels, particularly in Dublin, are suffering severe disruption.
Last month the Garda introduced Operation Dochas in Dublin, an initiative to increase uniformed patrols in the most drug infested areas of the city. Even if the operation has no impact on street level drug dealing, it has shown the force is willing to respond to public fears about crime.
But by far the most important morale booster is the Guerin murder investigation, being run from Lucan Garda station.
Lucan has been the Garda's major focused effort into breaking up a criminal network, run with the commitment previously reserved for subversives.
When he took up the job in July the Garda Commissioner said he did not think Dublin was awash with criminal gangs: it was more like "one big gang".
As the Lucan detectives have worked to uncover the sequence of events around the journalist's death, the size of that gang and the links between its leading members have become apparent for the first time.
The Lucan inquiry has been effective for two reasons: first, many gardai involved knew Guerin personally or felt they did. Secondly, at governmental and Garda management level, there was a realisation that the State badly needed a high profile success.
As a result, no resources have been spared in the search for her killers.
Whether there was a Garda or political loosening of the purse strings to allow as much overtime as necessary to the Lucan team is not clear.
A senior Garda source said it was more a question of feeling confident enough about the need to establish priorities without fearing criticism. Budgets could be exceeded on the basis that "it is easier to get forgiveness than to get permission".
The Lucan team is confident it knows the identities of the two men who pulled up on a motorcycle beside Guerin's car on June 26th.
The pillion passenger, who dismounted to fire all six bullets from his handgun into her car, has not been seen in Dublin for some weeks. The driver has also gone to ground. But many of their associates have been identified and the man who says he is the Garda's main suspect for ordering the "hit" is in custody in Britain.
Much work remains to be done but so far the results are a long way from the pessimism of the day Veronica Guerin was shot, when many thought her killers would never be known, let alone caught.
The Lucan team includes some of the Garda's best crime fighting officers, while Mr Byrne's success or as Deputy Commissioner in charge off operations, Mr Noel Conroy, is directing the new focus on "organised crime".
According to the Independent Dublin TD, Mr Tony Gregory, dealers have been driven from parts of the city. This is due to residents' anti drug meetings, marches and patrols in their communities and the Lucan operation which has disrupted the city's major drugs network, he says.
"For the moment at least some of the areas which were literally drug supermarkets are now drug free," he says. "Neither of these achievements has anything to do with Operation Dochas."
It is up to the Commissioner to ensure that the Lucan investigation becomes more than another "heave" by the State against the criminal gangs, such as "broke" the Dunne drug dealing family in the 1980s.
THE Commissioner knows that what can be achieved in 100 days cannot necessarily be continued through his term. Resources can be redirected only in the short term. Long term success needs more careful planning.
Priorities for the rest of his term, apart from the continuing attack on the major drug gangs, include an effort towards improving "public order".
Fear of crime in most urban areas remains relatively high. By happy coincidence the Commissioner and the Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, see salvation in horses. Plans for introducing mounted gardai are being drafted. Initially they will be posted in Dublin and for crowd control at major events but possibly also for patrolling.
Fear of rural crime still needs to be addressed and there will be pressure on the Commissioner to start reopening the small Garda stations currently only staffed for a few hours a week. Mr Byrne is preparing to resist this, arguing that mobile units make for more effective rural policing.
There are 43 stations in Dublin, of which a large proportion are staffed on a 24 hour basis. Garda management is examining how many of these, and others in the cities, could be closed for the night to allow officers to patrol.
But management realises it laces loud public protests wherever it attempts to curtail opening hours. The argument about increased patrolling may make sense to police officers but, so far, the public hasn't bought it.
The Commissioner must also accept that, despite Government initiatives, some flaws in the criminal justice system will remain or even become more acute.
There are about 600 offenders "unlawfully at large" and hundreds more annually enjoying early release from prison.
If the bail referendum is passed and public opinion polls indicate a large majority favour it then the prison system will remain under pressure even when the new cells are built.
Early release - sometimes before half a sentence is served - seems here to stay.
The need for an overall review of the criminal justice system is as urgent as ever. Any such review will inevitably involve criticism of the Garda.
But recent developments have ensured that the force is in a stronger position to argue its case than it was four months ago.