Osgur Breatnach was Wrongfully Imprisoned and Tortured 46 Years Ago. Decades Later, He is Still Seeking Answers.

Introduction

    Osgur Breatnach's painstaking pursuit of justice began 46 years ago, when he was wrongfully accused and convicted of a train robbery he had no part in. After enduring both physical and psychological torture on the part of agents of the State, Breatnach's conviction was overturned due to his confession being made "under oppression". At no point, however, have the circumstances of that oppression been investigated. Amnesty International has called on the Irish government to initiate a formal, unbiased inquiry into its treatment of prisoners, but this call has been refused. While the Irish government has washed its hands of its past wrongdoings, Breatnach and others victimized by the State have been left to pick up the pieces and move forward, burdened with deep trauma and social ramifications, such as difficulty securing employment. 

    Breatnach deserves a formal, impartial inquiry into his mistreatment and closure for an injustice unanswered for decades. Our aim is to raise awareness for Breatnach's case and support his efforts through education and advocacy.

Breatnach's Case

    At the time of the Sallins train robbery, Breatnach was a prolific writer and the editor of the Starry Plough, the newspaper of the Irish Republican Socialist Party. His association with the party made him a frequent target of police scrutiny and harassment, and when the need arose to find a guilty party in the Sallins case, Breatnach and a number of his colleagues were arrested. 

    While in detention, Breatnach was led into an underground tunnel and brutally beaten by Guards. After hours of violence and threats, he agreed to make a "confession", which was concocted and fed to him by the Guards. This became the only evidence against him and his three colleagues: Nicky Kelly, John Fitzpatrick, and Brian McNally, who were also brutalized and tortured before signing similar documents. When the physical state of the signatories was thrown into question during their trial at the Special Criminal Court, it was argued that Kelly and McNally had beaten each other in their shared cell. In Breatnach's case, they claimed that he had beaten himself up. Breatnach, McNally, and Fitzpatrick were eventually convicted and sentences to a total of 33 years penal servitude.

    After 17 months in prison, Breatnach's conviction was thrown out due to his confession being made under oppressive conditions, but not before enduring a two-month stint in solitary confinement. Breatnach and McNally submitted civil suits, which were settled by the State in 1993, but a formal investigation into the abuse he received during detention was never initiated. Suffering from PTSD and frequent intimidation from the Guards, Breatnach struggled to rebuild his life in the face of social and professional ostracisation. The effects of his mistreatment are still deeply felt, as Breatnach still struggles with PTSD and paranoia to this day. 

Our Goal: Education and Support

    Breatnach's case, generally known as the Sallins Case, touches on a number of international legal topics including torture, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment, the right to truth, the use of solitary confinement in prisons, and police brutality. A number of international legal documents speak to these topics, including the UN Convention against Torture, which Ireland is party to. His case touches on numerous other topics, such as the Special Criminal Court, mental health, and the politically charged treatment of Irish Republicans by the government. We seek to expand upon these themes in upcoming articles to highlight the various and complex ways in which Breatnach's basic human rights have been violated. Our hope is that in doing so, we can bring Breatnach closer to the justice he deserves. 








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