Irish language: Allegations that gardaí did not speak Irish when Eamon de Valera visited Clear Island in 1966 gave rise to a major Garda investigation, according to documents released by the National Archives.
The then President of Ireland visited the island off Baltimore in Co Cork on July 23rd to open a new Irish college.
Some 27 gardaí were on duty at the event. Two weeks later, the island priest, Father Tomás Ó Murchú, wrote a letter of complaint in Irish to the Minister for Justice, Mr Brian Lenihan. The "bad conduct" of the gardaí was "a source of scandal and shame", Father Ó Murchú wrote.
"They had not as much as one word of Irish between them, nor did they speak it while they were there. Not only that, but they were actually opposing Irish and poking fun at those who were speaking it."
The priest described the gardaí as "bad-mannered, ignorant goats" and a "repugnant group" who had spoiled the day of celebration for the islanders."Adding insult to injury, they told the locals 'you are only speaking Irish for today'," Father Ó Murchú wrote. "And the following was the slogan they were proclaiming throughout the island: 'We have no Irish and we do not want any Irish'. The Garda Depot must be rotten."
He claimed that the gardaí had listened to a match on the radio while President de Valera was speaking at the opening of the college. He also claimed that a number of them had been found asleep in an old van outside his house at 6 a.m. when they were supposed to be on duty, guarding the president.
Father Ó Murchú demanded that Mr Lenihan should order a public inquiry into the events, adding: "And you will come here to apologise publicly to the people of the island for the insult inflicted on them."
Suggesting that the Minister should send the letter to the Garda Depot, he wrote: "Before you do anything, you had better translate it into English for them, because apparently it is unlikely they will understand Irish."
The letter led to a major two-month Garda investigation.
Some 29 people were interviewed, including 27 gardaí. All the gardaí denied "poking fun" at Irish-speakers. Then, during a Garda interview with Father Ó Murchú on September 26th, the priest withdrew almost all his allegations and apologised for describing the gardaí in an offensive manner.
The priest said he still felt that the gardaí did not make as much use of the Irish language as he would have liked, but he would be happy with an undertaking that Irish-speaking gardaí would be sent to any similar event in the future. Two months after the complaint was made, the Garda Commissioner received a report along with 29 statements from a Chief Supt J. Collins. The report stated that Father Ó Murchú's letter was "grossly abusive" in parts, while other parts were "seriously at variance with the facts". It pointed out that the priest had withdrawn "these offensive and non-factual passages and is liberally and genuinely apologetic".
The Garda Commissioner decided that no further action was necessary, and the case was closed.
