Irish Centre for Human Rights Blog

The Sallins train robbery, which featured recently on the RTÉ documentary series “Crimes and Confessions”, became an integral part of Osgur Breatnach’s life when he was wrongly convicted of the crime in 1976. Although subsequently released and exonerated, Osgur has had to live with what he endured whilst in Garda custody. Maya McTighe, Silvia Polesello, David Roche and Fiona Fahy, masters students of International Human Rights Law at the Irish Centre for Human Rights, working as part of the International Human Rights Law Clinic, seek to raise awareness of Osgur’s fight for a formal inquiry into what he endured leading up to his conviction. Cross-posted below is the first in a series of blog posts dealing with Osgur’s case which sets out the background to his case, with further blog posts dealing with various aspects arising from his case such as the right to truth, the role of the Special Criminal Court and mental health issues to follow at breatnachinquiryllm.blogspot.com.

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Osgur Breatnach’s painstaking pursuit of justice began 46 years ago, when he was wrongfully accused and convicted of a train robbery he had no part in. After enduring both physical and psychological torture from agents of the State, Breatnach’s conviction was overturned due to his confession being made “under oppression”. At no point, however, have the circumstances of that oppression been investigated. Amnesty International has called on the Irish government to initiate a formal, unbiased inquiry into its treatment of prisoners, but this call has been refused. While the Irish government has washed its hands of its past wrongdoings, Breatnach and others victimised by the State have been left to pick up the pieces and move forward, burdened with deep trauma and societal ramifications, such as difficulty securing employment. 

Breatnach deserves a formal, impartial inquiry into his mistreatment and closure for an injustice unanswered for decades. Our aim is to raise awareness for Breatnach’s case and support his efforts through education and advocacy.

Breatnach’s Case

At the time of the Sallins train robbery, Breatnach was a prolific writer and the editor of the Starry Plough, the newspaper of the Irish Republican Socialist Party. His association with the party made him a frequent target of police scrutiny and harassment, and when the need arose to find a guilty party in the Sallins case, Breatnach and a number of his colleagues were arrested. 

While in detention, Breatnach was led into an underground tunnel and brutally beaten by guards. After hours of violence and threats, he agreed to make a “confession”, which was concocted and fed to him by the  Gardaí. This became the only evidence against him and his three colleagues, Nicky Kelly, John Fitzpatrick, and Brian McNally, who were also brutalized and tortured before signing similar documents. When the physical state of the signatories was thrown into question during their trial at the Special Criminal Court, it was argued that Kelly and McNally had attacked and beaten each other in their shared cell. In Breatnach’s case, they claimed that he had beaten himself up. Breatnach, McNally, and Fitzpatrick were eventually convicted and sentenced to a total of 33 years penal servitude.

After 17 months in prison, Breatnach’s conviction was thrown out due to his confession being made under oppressive conditions, but not before enduring a two-month stint in solitary confinement. Breatnach and McNally submitted civil suits, which were settled by the State in 1993, but a formal investigation into the abuse he received during detention was never initiated. Suffering from frequent intimidation from the Gardaí, Breatnach struggled to rebuild his life in the face of social and professional ostracization. The effects of his mistreatment are still deeply felt, as Breatnach still struggles with PTSD and paranoia to this day. 

 Our Goal: Education and Support

Breatnach’s case, generally known as the Sallins Case, touches on a number of international legal topics, including torture, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment, the right to truth, the use of solitary confinement in prisons, and police brutality. Numerous international legal documents speak to these topics, including the UN Convention against Torture, which Ireland is party to. Similarly, his case touches on important topics, such as the Special Criminal Court, mental health, and the politically charged treatment of Irish Republicans by the government. We seek to expand upon these themes in upcoming articles to highlight the various and complex ways in which Breatnach’s basic human rights have been violated. Our hope is that in doing so, we can bring Breatnach closer to the justice he deserves.