A Garda investigation was launched into the source of the first media reports about Garda Trevor Bolger being charged over domestic violence directed at his wife, then also a serving member of the force.
Last week the 48-year-old father received a three-month sentence, fully suspended, after pleading guilty to assaulting his then wife, Margaret Lofus, in her childhood family home in Co Mayo in 2012.
Ms Loftus has since praised and thanked the Garda members who investigated her case but believes others in the force sought to assist and protect her ex-husband. She believes a new approach must be taken within the Garda when its members are accused of domestic violence or barring orders are secured against them.
The first coverage of the case appeared in The Irish Times more than five years ago. Because of reporting restrictions that had been put in place by the courts, Bolger could not be named at that time. However, the fact he had been charged and was a serving Garda member could be reported.
When the first articles about the case appeared in this newspaper, the Garda initiated inquiries into how Conor Lally, Security and Crime Editor of The Irish Times, had learned Bolger was before the courts. The investigation commenced despite the fact Bolger being charged was not confidential information.
He had been charged more than six months earlier and had appeared in court several times. The court sessions were open to the media, albeit with some reporting restrictions in place. There was no legal bar on journalists writing about the case.
Bolger’s initial four or five court appearances had gone unnoticed by the media over a period of around seven months. Then, in mid-2020, The Irish Times learned about the case and published two initial stories.
The reports triggered a Garda investigation into how the media had learned of the charges. Mr Lally was contacted and invited for interview as part of the inquiry. He attended but refused to disclose any information about sources or any other aspect of his research for the published reports. The newspaper was not approached again by the Garda about the case.
Garda Headquarters did not reply to queries on Monday about why the investigation was launched in 2020, what the conclusion was, or if a file has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Bolger, who was previously attached to Ballymun Garda station, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assaulting Ms Loftus on October 25th, 2012. Last Friday, Judge Martina Baxter gave him a three-month sentence, which she suspended in full on strict conditions.
The court heard the maximum penalty for the assault, under section two of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, normally dealt with summarily in the District Court, is six months’ imprisonment or a fine.