The announcement by Garda Headquarters yesterday that the chief superintendent of the Donegal division, his two superintendents and two officers of Garda rank are being transferred to other duties comes after a 16-month internal inquiry.
This began after the wife of a garda based in Donegal made allegations that her husband stored explosives and moved them to locations where they were subsequently "discovered" and hailed as successes against the IRA.
The gardai in Donegal did have an extraordinary run of successes against the IRA. It is now understood that while some officers mounted a highly successful campaign against the republicans, some others were becoming jealous and seeking ways to further their own careers.
It is alleged they began removing explosives from Garda stores and then planting them, in one case across the Border in Co Tyrone. These were then rediscovered and credit claimed.
Following the allegations by the garda's wife, other gardai made inquiries and found there was a basis for suspicion.
Almost simultaneously, an investigation into the 1996 killing of a Raphoe man, Mr Richard Barrons, became the subject of controversy. The death had at first been dismissed as a hit-and-run accident. The scene was not preserved and it was only after a post-mortem that it emerged he had been beaten to death.
The case against two local men, members of the pub-owning family, the McBreartys, subsequently collapsed amid a welter of accusations against gardai. Embarrassment was further heaped on the Garda after the District Court threw out some 160 charges relating to after-hours drinking in the McBrearty establishment. The McBreartys claim they were the target of a vendetta by some gardai.
It was later alleged drugs had been planted in an entertainment venue in the county and that evidence was concocted and witnesses unduly influenced in investigations into serious offences.
As allegations mounted, so did internal tensions, with gardai making allegations against each other. In April, the Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, directed that all available detective inspectors in the Dublin Metropolitan Region be sent to Donegal to help complete the internal inquiries.
The visiting detectives were faced with a remarkable array of allegations, claims and counterclaims. The report was completed in recent weeks and forwarded to the Garda Commissioner on Monday. After perusing the material, Mr Byrne directed that, in the interest of public confidence in the force, it was necessary to move some officers even though, it was emphasised, there was no indication of any wrongdoing on their part.