THE names and addresses of senior gardai involved in operations against the IRA were contained in documents seized during a joint Garda Army operation in Co Louth last month. Forensic examination at Garda Headquarters this week confirmed that the loose A4 sheets contained details on up to 70 gardai and army personnel living in Co Louth.
The documents were contained inside training manuals on fire arms and bomb making recovered from a dry container buried woodland at Kilsaran, Castlebellingham, two weeks ago. Gardai are confident they had been recently moved from north Louth, where extensive searches of the Border area around Hackballscross have been ongoing for over two months.
The sheets of typing paper contained hand written names and addresses. They included rank and file members as well as sergeants, superintendents and plainclothes' gardai.
One senior garda said this list is believed to have been compiled to decide where to locate "safe houses", away from Garda and defence employees. "This is cause for concern but it is not seen as being of any great significance," he said.