A retired Garda and a woman have been awarded damages totalling €275,000 after a High Court jury was instructed to find the pair had been unlawfully arrested and detained for three days by gardaí in 1991.
Mr Joe Walshe, a retired Garda, and Ms Kay Bedford, received damages of €175,000 and €100,000 respectively after they sued Det Inspector Anthony Fennessy, the Minister for Justice and the Attorney General, arising from their separate arrests in Limerick on September 27th 1991. They were held for three days under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act on suspicion of IRA membership.
During the hearing, Det Inspector Fennessy said the two people were arrested on the orders of then Chief Superintendent, now Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne.
They were arrested separately in Limerick on a Friday evening and brought to the Bridewell garda station in Dublin where they were interrogated and detained until the following Sunday morning.
It was accepted by the defendants during the hearing that neither Mr Walshe, who was a Garda stationed in Limerick in 1991, nor Ms Bedford, had anything to do with the IRA.
After two days of legal argument in the absence of the jury yesterday, Mr Justice Quirke told the jury he had ruled the arrests were not lawful and accordingly the claims made by the plaintiffs must be successful. The jury was then asked to only assess damages.
After deliberating for more than two hours they decided Mr Walshe (61), of Oaklawn Drive, Dromin, Nenagh, Co Tipperary and Ms Bedford (58), Sir Harry's Mall, Limerick, should receive €175,000 and €100,000 respectively.
Mr Justice Quirke adjourned the issue of costs to next Friday when he will also deal with whether Insp Fennessy is entitled to be indemnified in relation to the award.