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") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...

(Ireland's national police force).

History

Boylan, from

County Louth County Louth ( ; ) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, Meath to the ...

, was the owner of a trucking firm in

Ardee Ardee (; , ) is a town and townland in County Louth, Ireland. It is located at the intersection of the N2, N52, and N33 roads. The town shows evidence of development from the thirteenth century onward but as a result of the continued develo ...

and had numerous drugs convictions in England and Ireland. In December 2003, the

National Bureau of Criminal Investigation The Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (GNBCI) () - formerly known as the Central Detective Unit (CDU) () - is the main national criminal investigative branch of the ''Garda Síochána'', the national police force of Ireland. The ...

(NBCI) caught him at

Dublin Port Dublin Port () is the seaport of Dublin, Ireland, of both historical and contemporary economic importance. Approximately two-thirds of Ireland's port traffic travels via the port, which is by far the busiest on the island of Ireland. Locatio ...

in possession of

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

and

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

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 The case against him was withdrawn twice, the second time in July 2008 when his trial collapsed, leading to reports that the convicted drug dealer had been assisted by gardaí (members of the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 Garda may refer to: * Garda Síochána, the police and security service of Ireland * Garda National Surveillance Unit, the domestic intelligence agency of Ireland * GardaWorld, a security and protection company headquartered in Montreal, Canada * ...

's widest, longest and costliest inquiry, with the Ombudsman sending the Kieran Boylan file to the Director of Public Prosecutions (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 ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

President

Gerry Adams Gerard Adams (; born 6 October 1948) is a retired 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. From 1983 to 19 ...

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 ( ...

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 S ...

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

whistleblower Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe, unethical or ...

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