Legal bid to challenge PSNI's Garda Commissioner appointment dismissed

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Wednesday, 22 August 2018 12:02

By PA Reporter

A legal bid to challenge the appointment of Ireland's new police chief has been dismissed by a judge in Dublin's High Court.

Ciaran MacAirt, whose grandmother Kathleen Irvine was killed during The Troubles, was seeking the go-ahead for a judicial review of the decision to appoint former Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Deputy Chief Constable Drew Harris as Garda Commissioner.

Mr MacAirt argued Mr Harris's previous roles in the PSNI and the Royal Ulster Constabulary, and his associated connections with the UK security and intelligence community, rendered him unsuitable to lead the Irish Republic's police force.

Justice Denis McDonald, who heard the legal bid on Tuesday, rejected the application on Wednesday morning, insisting Mr MacAirt had not demonstrated that he had an arguable case.