The Kieran Boylan affair refers to a long-running saga involving the convicted drug dealer Kieran Boylan and his links as a protected informant of the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gover ...

(Ireland's national police force).

History

Boylan, from

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

, was the owner of a trucking firm in Ardee and had numerous drugs convictions in England and Ireland. In December 2003, the

National Bureau of Criminal Investigation , seal = , headquarters = Harcourt Street, Dublin (D2) , logo = , formed = , preceding1 = Garda Central Detective Unit (CDU) , preceding2 = , jurisdiction = Ireland , employees = Undisclosed , budget = Undisclosed (part of ''Garda Sí ...

(NBCI) caught him at

Dublin Port Dublin Port ( ga, Calafort Átha Cliath) is the seaport of Dublin, Ireland, of both historical and contemporary economic importance. Approximatively two-thirds of Ireland's port traffic travels via the port, which is by far the busiest on the ...

in possession of

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

and

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

worth €750,000. He was sentenced to five years imprisonment in December 2005. On 6 October 2005, while on bail, members of the Garda National Drug Unit (GNDU) caught Boylan in possession of heroin and cocaine worth €1.7 million in the yard of his trucking firm. The case against him was withdrawn twice, the second time in July 2008 when his trial collapsed, leading to reports that the convicted drug dealer had been assisted by gardaí (members of the Garda Síochána).

Inquiry

The publicity around this matter led to the

Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) is an independent statutory body in Ireland charged with overseeing the Garda Síochána, the national police force. It is a three-member body established under the Garda Síochána Act, 2005 to dea ...

's widest, longest and costliest inquiry, with the Ombudsman sending the Kieran Boylan file to the

Director of Public Prosecutions The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is used mainly in jurisdictions that are or have been members o ...

(DPP) In December 2012. In May 2013, the investigation concluded with no evidence established of any improper conduct by gardaí. It was later revealed that gardaí had disrupted the GSOC's investigation and refused to co-operate with it. In 2014, the GSOC disclosed to the general public that there had been a security alert at their office, an event which, it was later revealed, resulted from a suspicion that gardaí were bugging the office due to the GSOC's investigation into the Kieran Boylan affair.

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...

President

Gerry Adams Gerard Adams ( ga, Gearóid Mac Ádhaimh; born 6 October 1948) is an Irish republican politician who was the president of Sinn Féin between 13 November 1983 and 10 February 2018, and served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Louth from 2011 to 2020 ...

told the Dáil on 19 February 2014 “Today, following a radio interview in which I was asked about the Boylan angle, I was contacted at my Dáil office by a man who said he was the Kieran Boylan in question. He objected strongly to Sinn Féin highlighting this aspect of the bugging scandal.” In the midst of these events, Garda Commissioner

Martin Callinan Martin Callinan (born 25 August 1953), is an Irish former Garda, who served as Garda Commissioner from 2010 to 2014. Callinan is a two-time graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, qualifying in law enforcement management (1 ...

was granted a further two years in his role by justice minister

Alan Shatter Alan Joseph Shatter (born 14 February 1951) is an Irish lawyer, author and former Fine Gael politician who served as Minister for Justice and Equality and Minister for Defence from 2011 to 2014. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Sou ...

, due to last until August 2015. However, on 25 March 2014, Callinan resigned over his remarks about

whistleblower A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...

s, leaving in his wake the first revelations to the general public of widespread Garda phone recordings of civilians.

References

{{reflist 2003 in Ireland 2005 in Ireland 2008 in Ireland 2012 in Ireland 2013 in Ireland

History

Inquiry

See also

References