Courts / Ireland / Report
O'Sullivan tells tribunal she never sought to influence RTE coverage of McCabe
2018-05-29
Hearing Or Decision
Summary
In a hearing before the Charleton tribunal, former Garda Commissioner Nóirín O'Sullivan denied any attempt to influence RTÉ's coverage of the O'Higgins report on complaints against whistleblower Sergeant Maurice McCabe. She said she had never sought to shape media coverage and was unaware of any directive from former Commissioner Martin Callinan to brief the press negatively. O'Sullivan explained that she first learned of McCabe in 2008 during a briefing as assistant commissioner of human resources and that she had not heard further about the Miss D allegation after leaving that post. She stated she had no knowledge of alleged comments by Callinan to TDs or the Comptroller and Auditor General, and that she did not trust press officer Superintendent David Taylor. The tribunal considered whether she had influenced RTÉ broadcasts on 9 May 2016, to which she replied she had not.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: O'Sullivan tells tribunal she never sought to influence RTE coverage of McCabe. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision
When:
- May 9, 2016 Other
- January 2014 Incident
- May 2014 Incident
- June 2014 Other
- 2018-05-29 Publication
Why: Ms O'Sullivan said the appointment of Supt Dave Taylor as press officer, "came as a surprise because his background was in the liaison protection section". CNI source report
Topics
Help us improve this report
Your request is saved for the newsroom's next review. It does not immediately change the published report.
Prefer email? Send a correction request.