Courts / Ireland / Report

"Chasm" between positions of McCabe and Taylor on meeting

Summary

In a Disclosures Tribunal hearing, former Garda press office head denies ever telling whistleblower Maurice McCabe about a smear campaign involving text messages allegedly compiled by former commissioner Martin Callinan. Sergeant McCabe testified that Superintendent David Taylor told him Callinan had gathered hundreds of such messages, which were then forwarded to journalists. Tara Burns, representing Taylor, acknowledged a meeting but denied forwarding any hundreds of sexual‑abuse‑related texts. McCabe claimed he did not take verbatim notes of the September 2016 meeting but noted key points, describing them as distressing. The DPP had previously directed no charge against McCabe after a 2006 investigation found no abuse evidence. A 2013 copy/paste error created a Tusla file with unrelated allegations. McCabe verified the existence of hundreds of messages the day after the meeting, before making a protected disclosure. The tribunal chair noted a widening gap between McCabe's and Taylor's accounts of what was said.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: "Chasm" between positions of McCabe and Taylor on meeting. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision

When:

• 20 September 2016 Incident
• September 2016 Other
• May 2016 Other
• 2018-03-06 Publication

Topics

Stage Hearing Or Decision

Read the original CNI report