THE dinner at Jurys Hotel in Dublin last Friday night to mark the retirement of Garda Commissioner PJ Culligan was said to be a very pleasant affair despite some unease over the presence of the RUC Chief Constable Sir Hugh Annesley and a number of his officers. Relations between the two forces are always good - indeed, the retiring Commissioner and Sir Hugh embraced when they met - but the RUC role in the Drumcree debacle leaves some gardai wary.
The attendance at Friday's £27.50 a head dinner, organised by staff at the Garda depot in the Phoenix Park, included the Minister for Justice Nora Owen, former Taoiseach C. J. Haughey and the new Commissioner Pat Byrne. Mr Culligan was presented with a set of golf clubs and a set of delph and Deputy Commissioner P. J. Moran was master of ceremonies.
Ironically, when ministerial discussions were taking place on the possibility of appointing an outsider to replace Commissioner Culligan, one of the names mentioned, though not approached, was that of Dublin born Sir Hugh, since he will be free of his RUC job later this year. Another mentioned was Irishman John Timoney, former second in command at the NYPD, who incidentally is a friend of the new Commissioner. Timoney has been given a role on the group reviewing Garda organisation: Sir Hugh's reputation has taken a nose dive since Drumcree and it is in no one's interest to say they ever even thought of him.