The Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, and his legal team will be considering the outcome of the Walshe case, where Mr Byrne was named as having ordered the wrongful arrest of a member of the Garda Síochána, he told The Irish Times yesterday.
The case, which concluded on Wednesday, concerned a retired Garda, Mr Joe Walshe, and a woman, Ms Kay Bedford, who between them were awarded €275,000 and costs estimated at €1 million by the High Court for their wrongful arrest in 1991 on suspicion of involvement with the IRA.
It was accepted during the case by the defence that neither of them had anything to do with the IRA.
They had sued Det Insp Anthony Fennessy, the Minister for Justice and the Attorney General. During the hearing, Det Insp Fennessy, who had arrested them, told the court that they were arrested on the orders of the then Chief Superintendent and now Garda Commissioner, Mr Byrne. He would not have arrested them if it was left up to him, he said.
Speaking to The Irish Times after awarding BAs in police management to 18 officers in Templemore yesterday, Mr Byrne said: "I will be looking at the transcript and I will be talking to my legal team, bearing in mind that the question of an appeal is raised.
"Some of the evidence did come as a surprise."
Asked to specify what, he said: "I'd prefer not to say who I'm referring to."
Asked for his view on the ruling out by a court in Cork on the same day of statements made to gardaí by Mr Tadhg O'Driscoll, who had been accused of murder, he said: "There are a lot of occasions where we would have intelligence on who committed particular crimes, but having intelligence and having evidence are two different things.
"We strive at all times to gather the best evidence possible, especially in the forensic science field. We put it to the DPP for prosecution or not and it is then up to the court whether to accept it or not."
He did not know whether the interview with Mr O'Driscoll had been video-taped.
Mr Byrne also said he hoped there would soon be an announcement about his successor. Mr Byrne is due to retire as commissioner on July 20th.
"I would like to see an announcement at such a time as to allow for a smooth transfer of authority, so that my successor can be au fait with every level of the organisation," he said.
He declined to elaborate on what challenges would face his successor.
Gardaí on whom the BA degrees were conferred were: Assistant Commissioner Mr Fachtna Murphy; Chief Supt Kevin Donohue; Chief Supt Al McHugh; Chief Supt Michael Byrnes; Supt William Dillane; Supt John Forde; Supt Michael Blake; Supt Charles Byrne; Supt Richard Duggan; Supt Michael McGarry;
Supt Thomas Murphy; Supt Thomas Neville; Supt Francis O'Brien; Supt Aidan Reid; Supt William Ward; Supt Patrick Delaney; Supt James Fitzgerald and Supt Derek Byrne.