There was a “sense of pride” among gardaí who policed the Kinahan-Hutch feud following the arrest of Daniel Kinahan in Dubai last week, the Garda Representative Association (GRA) conference heard on Monday.
Kinahan, the leader of the Kinahan cartel and a member of the European “super cartel”, was arrested as part of a secret joint operation between gardaí and authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
He was taken into custody on foot of an extradition request from the Irish authorities, and it is understood he will face charges in Ireland.
Speaking at the opening of the GRA annual conference in Westport, Co Mayo, on Monday, the association’s vice-president, Niall Hodgins, said gardaí had come through a “very difficult period”.
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Hodgins said gardaí have now entered a period of “respair”, which he described as “a recovery from a state of absolute despair, which is what we were in Dublin’s north inner city”.
He said a “complete change of direction” was needed following the drug feud years, and that the force now had “hope”.
Hodgins said that members of his division, Dublin North Central, had attempted to police the feud for a decade.
“I think it is poignant at this stage that we recognise the efforts of former assistant commissioner John O’Driscoll in respect of this matter.”
Hodgins became emotional while discussing O’Driscoll’s contribution to Garda efforts against gangland crime, describing him as a “fantastic policeman”.
O’Driscoll spearheaded the Garda efforts to police the Kinahans’ transcontinental drugs business and was involved in the force’s efforts to combat gangland crime in Ireland.
He retired in 2022 after 41 years having extended his service by two years beyond the statutory retirement age because of the importance of his work against organised crime. He died on September 27th, 2024.
“It is such a shame that he is not here to witness what happened last week.”
In 2023, The Irish Times revealed that Kinahan was at the centre of a big Garda investigation into the cartel’s crimes in Ireland, with a file sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Though a decision to charge him took almost three years, the DPP has directed the 48-year-old be charged with organised crime-related offences.
Separately, the GRA executive said the Limerick gardaí suspended under allegations of “squaring” penalty points – who were later acquitted or had all charges dropped – will address the conference on Tuesday.
The gardaí were investigated by the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, but the GRA has raised concern over this process.
GRA president Mark O’Meara said the association is calling for an “independent public examination and inquiry” into the case.
He said the association, which represents more than 11,000 rank-and-file gardaí, would not settle for an internal investigation.
O’Meara said Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan had rejected the association’s call for such an inquiry, and said the matter would be brought up when the Minister addresses the conference on Tuesday.
The GRA president said there had been “nine very recent, high-profile cases” in which members of the force had been charged before being acquitted.
“Our view is that it clearly shows that something is broken,” he said, describing the long-term suspensions that members had faced, as long as seven years, as “completely unacceptable”.
He also criticised the lack of an independent appeals process for suspensions of members.
