{"id":530116,"date":"2026-07-02T22:22:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T22:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/530116\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T22:22:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T22:22:09","slug":"former-defence-forces-officer-wrote-he-did-not-wish-to-become-scapegoat-after-apprentices-suicide-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/530116\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Defence Forces officer wrote he did not wish to become \u2018scapegoat\u2019 after apprentice\u2019s suicide \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

A former senior officer accused of historical abuse within the Defence Forces<\/a> requested a transfer after an apprentice died by suicide, writing that he did not wish to become a \u201cscapegoat\u201d, a tribunal has heard.<\/p>\n

The officer, who cannot be identified and is being referred to as 2LTB, wrote to his superiors seeking a transfer days after Oliver Mullaney died by suicide at the Army apprentice school at Devoy Barracks in Naas, Co Kildare<\/a>, in 1991.<\/p>\n

During a Defence Forces tribunal hearing on Thursday, 2LTB denied mistreating apprentices while he was in a senior position at Devoy.<\/p>\n

The tribunal\u2019s senior counsel, Michael Cush, noted how \u201cmany\u201d former apprentices believed 2LTB\u2019s actions contributed to Mullaney\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

2LTB described Mullaney\u2019s death as an \u201cimmense tragedy\u201d, adding: \u201cIt\u2019s immeasurable, in terms of its impact, to be associated by anybody with his passing.\u201d<\/p>\n

It has been alleged that 2LTB subjected Mullaney to verbal abuse and mockery and ordered him to dance and kiss other apprentices two days before his suicide.<\/p>\n

The tribunal heard that 2LTB wrote to a superior days after Mullaney\u2019s death, seeking a transfer from the apprentice school, writing he had become a \u201cvictim of a dangerous slur-type campaign\u201d.<\/p>\n

He clarified on Thursday he was referring to an investigation launched after allegations were made by another apprentice, Damien Traynor, including that he was kicked in the ribs and taunted<\/a>.<\/p>\n

2LTB wrote that he realised the request came \u201crather soon\u201d after Mullaney\u2019s death, adding: \u201cI wish to disassociate myself from any involvement in the incident. Furthermore, I do not wish to be made a sort of scapegoat.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo this end, I must also request that the transfer be temporarily delayed [to August].\u201d<\/p>\n

In the letter, he said he had \u201calways tried to behave as I was trained\u201d and realised that he had \u201cmade mistakes\u201d but \u201ctried to be the best officer I could be\u201d.<\/p>\n

He told the tribunal his position had become \u201cuntenable\u201d after Traynor made allegations of abuse.<\/p>\n

In a memo to himself at the time, he claimed an officer charged with the investigation gave \u201ccarte blanche\u201d to \u201cany apprentice who had a minor gripe with no relevance to the investigation\u201d, describing it as a \u201cwitch hunt of sorts\u201d.<\/p>\n

Allegations made by other former apprentices included that 2LTB gave an apprentice a haircut against their wishes and forced another to chew and \u201cswallow\u201d cigarette butts, which he denies.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, a document in which the senior officer admitted to telling an apprentice, who he had caught smoking indoors, to put a cigarette butt \u201cin his nose\u201d was read out.<\/p>\n

2LTB admitted that a photograph was subsequently taken of the recruit, though argued the act in 1989 was an attempt to \u201cembarrass him\u201d and \u201cget the message across in a lighthearted manner\u201d.<\/p>\n

Asked if he wished to comment on all allegations made to date, he said he respected the right of \u201call persons to come to the tribunal\u201d.<\/p>\n

On those who have alleged mistreatment, he said he did not \u201cdoubt the sincerity with which they hold their views\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI certainly would regret any perception or any feelings that they have, but at the same time, I do have to deny that I ever mistreated any member of [the platoon] or any apprentice,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Judge Ann Power, chair of the tribunal, said she would not be determining whether any allegations are true, and would instead examine the complaints process within the Defence Forces.<\/p>\n

The tribunal was established after allegations of sexual abuse and bullying were raised by the Women of Honour, a group of former Defence Forces members.<\/p>\n

2LTB became a senior officer at a young age and was ultimately charged with recruits, some of whom were \u201cthe same age as me\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was put into a situation that was wrong,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A former senior officer accused of historical abuse within the Defence Forces requested a transfer after an apprentice…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":530117,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[13308,61,60,3770,43],"class_list":["post-530116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-defence-forces","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-kildare","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=530116"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530116\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/530117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=530116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=530116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=530116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}