Exonerated garda superintendent dies aged 105

A former Garda superintendent who was dismissed from the force in 1928, and campaigned for almost 70 years to clear his name, has died in New York, aged 105.

Mr William Geary emigrated to New York when he was dismissed for allegedly accepting a £100 bribe from the IRA in Kilrush, Co Clare, where he was stationed at the time. He never returned to Ireland.

In 1934 he began a letter-writing campaign to successive ministers for justice in an effort to have his case reopened. However, it was not until five years ago that the then minister for justice, Mr John O'Donoghue, granted him a pardon and a superintendent's pension.

Mr Geary died of heart failure last Thursday at a hospital in Bayside, New York. He was buried at Mount Calvary cemetery in Queens on Saturday. Originally from Ballyagran, Co Limerick, he had spent his final years living in a retirement community in Bayside.

In 1928 the then Garda commissioner, Mr Eoin O'Duffy, summoned Mr Geary to a meeting, and informed him that he, Mr O'Duffy, had come into the possession of an IRA receipt for £100 which was signed by Mr Geary. The accused man was never shown the receipt and, despite protesting his innocence, was sacked on June 26th.

In an interview in 1999, he told The Irish Times that at the time of his sacking he was offered a job in Government Buildings if he admitted his role in the bribery and revealed the full facts.

"Being innocent of the allegations made against me, I could not in good conscience fabricate some story to avail of the offer," he said.

Five months after he was dismissed, unable to find another job in the State, he emigrated to New York.

He worked for an electricity company before retiring in 1967.