Charades: Adrienne McGlinchey and the Donegal Gardai - Tapa blanda

The Morris Report, published in the summer of 2004, identified widespread and significant corruption and malpractice among members of the Garda Siochana in County Donegal. It was one of the most trenchant and unambiguous tribunal reports of modern times. Adrienne McGlinchey was the star witness at this module of The Morris Tribunal. In this book, written by her sister, her story is told. Hers was a classic case of a vulnerable young woman who found herself cynically and cruelly exploited by bullies in the Garda Siochana. Karen McGlinchey doesn't pretend that her sister's behaviour was above reproach. But a scandal developed when Adrienne was used as part of an elaborate scheme to win promotion for two gardai through the planting of fake and false evidence relating to IRA terrorism. The gardai in question went on to represent Adrienne as a top-secret and complex Garda agent, doubling as an IRA courier, bomb manufacturer and informer. These false and bizarre misrepresentations had a shattering effect on Adrienne and her wider family. This is not just one woman's story of weakness and exploitation. It is also a searing insight into a Garda culture that requires urgent remedial action.

Karen McGlinchey is a nurse based in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, where she also owns a youth hostel, and is the sister of Adrienne McGlinchey.