Happy International Day of the Right to Truth!


















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The Power of Truth: a Means of Overcoming Past Abuses and Maintaining People’s Confidence in the Justice System

In the early morning of the 7 th of April 1976 , Osgur Breatnach signed a false self-accusatory statement admitting guilt for taking part in the Sallins mail train robbery: that document served as key evidence for his subsequent wrongful conviction by the Special Criminal Court . The circumstances that led to his flawed confession were never ascertained: despite the Court of Criminal Appeal exonerating Osgur, it failed to address the causes of the injuries found on Osgur’s body immediately after the Garda interrogation, which medical reports deemed to be consistent with the allegations of torture and police brutality.  Recently, on the 25 th of January 2022 , Sinn Féin politician and Member of the Irish Parliament (Oireachtas) Pa Daly raised the need to carry out an independent, statutory, public enquiry into Osgur’s and similar cases and asked for the Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Micheál Martin’s support. However, the Taoiseach expressed his scepticism and opposition towards th...
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The Special Criminal Court: Guilty Until Proven Innocent

The Special Criminal Court ‘Guilty until proven innocent?’ These are the words used by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) to describe the Special Criminal Court (SCC) when it recently called for its abolition. The SCC played a significant role in Osgur Breatnach’s plight as one of the key players in the serious injustices suffered by him in the Sallins train robbery case. For more details on the background to the case, please see our first blog post in this thread.  So, what is the SCC? The 1937 Irish Constitution, Bunreacht na hEireann provides for the establishment of ‘special courts’ by law where the ordinary courts are deemed inadequate to secure effective administration of justice and preservation of peace and order (Article 38.3). With the political unrest at home and in Europe around this time, 1939 saw the introduction of the Offences Against the State Act (OASA), thus providing the legislative framework to give effect to Article 38.3. Part V of the OASA permi...
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