A WELL-KNOWN Enniscorthy man was one of four Garda Sergeants to stage a walkout at last week’s conference of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors in Sligo.
John Foley, a son of the late Kevin and Ellen from St. John’s Villas, joined the Gardai in 1990 and served in a number of stations including Bridewell in Dublin, and Tullow in Carlow before being promoted in 2002 to the role of Sergeant. He served in a number of stations before being installed as a Sergeant-In-Charge in Carlow town where he serves today.
Sgt. Foley, along with three others from Carlow and Kilkenny branches: Sgt. Joe Hanley, Sgt. Pat Baldwin and Sgt. Ted Hughes, staged a walk out during speeches by both the Minister for Justice Alan Shatter and Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan. The four sergeants were instructed by their local organisation to mount the protest as they had unanimously said they had no confidence in either the Minister or the Commissioner.
Sgt. Foley and his three colleagues were summoned to the GardaCollege in Templemore on Thursday where, in a six hour meeting, they spoke with senior members of the Gardai and later indicated that they had meant no offence to the Commissioner and had full confidence in him.
But former local members of the Garda Siochana believe that the men should not have apologised.
Retired Detective Garda Tony Fagan, a former Division Representative on the National Executive of the Garda Representative Association said that he “absolutely agreed with the walk out.
“What should they apologise for? Because they got up and walked out of a room? They were acting on behalf of their own division’s committee. It was a silent protest; there was no shouting or anything like that.
“I see absolutely no reason for an apology.”
He further criticised Minister Shatter whom he said was “using the Commissioner of the Gardai like a little puppet.”
Derek Nally, a former Detective Sergeant said that he understood the men were acting as representatives for their local organisation and that he saw nothing wrong with a quiet dignified walk out.
“People have walked out of conferences for years. It’s nothing new and as long as it’s done politely I don’t see anything untoward about it.”
