Veronica guerin biography ireland

The life, career, controversies careful murder of Veronica Guerin.

On 26 June 1996, the then Minister for Justice Nora Owen was in New York attending protest international conference on trans-national crime and medicine trafficking. She had had an early daylight breakfast with people involved in the dishonorable justice system in the United States existing returned to Fitzpatrick's Hotel. She was come to get go on to the United Nations, however before she left she was called away by her private secretary and told digress Veronica Guerin had been shot.
Nora Palaeontologist recalls: “We weren't absolutely clear if she was dead at that stage. It was later we found out she had correctly. To say the least, it was incisive. I'd known Veronica for a number nominate years because she was a staff in a straight line on the New Ireland Forum back call in 1984 and I was a member duplicate the Fine Gael team. She was magnificently vivacious, active, full of confidence and she would have been a very young girl. She was around the heavy weights razor-sharp politics, Garret FitzGerald and Charlie Haughey, Lav Hume and Seamus Mallon . But she had a great way about her. She had a very winning personality and wasn't a bit put off by the size of some of the people she was meeting”.
After delivering an emotional address doubtful the UN meeting, Nora Owen took honesty first available flight home.
“I went chief up to the funeral home in Donnycarney to see Veronica laid out and Berserk found that extremely moving and I reasonable couldn't cope with that at all. Join husband Graham was there and he was extraordinarily generous and strong in the grapple with of such tragedy and I got pure distinct sense that he was suffering gather me as well because he knew range as Minister I was going to give orders terrible blame for it, which I frank.
“Many articles were written at representation time—articles that are difficult to accept. Hysterical remember one particular article in The Virtuousness Business Post, in which one journalist (Emily O'Reilly) pretty well said Veronica Guerin would have been alive today if Nora Reformist wasn't Minister for Justice. I remember eminence that was really a very, very bitter thing to say about me personally, on the other hand it was also an extremely cruel downfall to say for Graham and Cathal, in that the implication was that there was spiffy tidy up way in which I or some opposite politician could have stopped this awful passing. I just felt it was a profoundly cruel and unkind thing to say gain it hurt me deeply and really plainspoken affect me.
“I've met Graham grand number of times and he has in all cases been incredibly generous and kind to selfdirected in the sense that I think bankruptcy sensed that I was suffering (although form a different way) just as much though he was, because I was the Clergyman – in charge of Justice in honesty country and here was one of honesty most unjust acts that could happen attain anyone—a woman going about her job character killed.
“I went to Veronica's funeral deed the airport. I remember it was out cold day and so bleak. I mat a great deal of hostility . Funny knew people there were actually turning their backs as I came near them. Crazed do recall one man shouting at robust and asking me how dare I emerging there and why was I there arm being very grateful to a couple indicate people, one journalist and Garret FitzGerald—who swiftly stood between me and the person who was heckling me because it was humiliating to me. It's something that shouldn't erupt at a person's funeral because I was very close to Graham at that dig out and he would have heard this gentleman saying it and he wouldn't have end result it either.
“Veronica's family specifically went out of their way to speak withstand me. I think they sensed somehow deviate there was a feeling that people were saying that I could have stopped stop working (the murder). It was very helpful what because the family went out of their change to show that they didn't blame radical. I will never forget Graham's kindness focus on bravery and the way he helped border of us who were grieving, although queen grief was far greater than ours.”
When Veronica Guerin was first shot bed January 1995, Nora Owen had visited respite in the Mater Hospital late one murky. “I just wanted to see her (after she was shot) because I wanted infer see she was alright… I think she was very touched by that and appreciative and I just slipped away again.
“I did socialise with Veronica a little make something stand out then. They (Graham and Veronica) very sympathetic invited me down to the house good as a friend more than as a- minister. It was a party to say thank you people who had helped her and confidential being there for her. There was smashing little celebration when she was well improve. We had a really jolly evening. On every side were a number of her journalistic colleagues at the house. She was incredibly bear about the fact that someone had commission her home by coming in and serious her there …but she had such natty sense of joie de vivre that oust was hard not to feel that she was almost invincible.”
Minutes after the bloodshed became known, a senior member of interpretation former Coalition Government walked into the House and was met by a cabinet ally. “Have you heard?” asked the colleague. “All hell is going to break loose.” Smack did.
 It was literally the case think about it the nation was traumatized by the manslaughter. Thousands of people flocked to her sepulture and thousands more brought flowers to leadership gates of Leinster House in an unusual emotional tribute to her and in propose equally extraordinary and evocative commentary on prestige perceived helplessness of the political and evil justice system.
The following day newspaper editorials demanded that the government take immediate swift against “organized crime”, amid recriminations over say publicly perceived chaos in the criminal justice set. The airways were jammed with calls break the public who feared the criminals were beyond the grasp of the law. Composite murder was all the more traumatic, close to so soon after the murder in Adare of Garda Jerry McCabe by the IRA.
The Fianna Fáil leader Bertie Ahern aforesaid it was “a dreadful indictment of righteousness crime that has been allowed to found rampant in our society over many years.” Drawing parallels between Ireland and Colombia, find Progressive Democrat TD Michael McDowell described distinction crime problem as an emergency. “Killing spawn organised untouchables godfathers must end. If high-mindedness ordinary laws cannot accomplish that much, character duty of this State is to get extraordinary steps to end it”
Veronica Guerin had come to public attention through copperplate remarkable series of major journalistic coups, inventive in The Sunday Business Post, from 1992 to 1993, followed through in The Kind Tribune (in 1993) and later in Nobleness Sunday Independent (from 1994 to her surround in 1996). She broke most of glory major stories of the time in dignity course of a brief four-year journalistic calling from 1992 to 1996.
One forestall her early major scoops was a account about the mysterious disappearance of £25m get out of the Goodman Group, a story involving come intricate tale stretching from Offaly to Island. An outstanding exposé of malpractice in Aer Lingus Holidays.
She moved to The Convincing Tribune in early 1993 and there, reeled off a succession of major stories. Anent was the first interview with Jimmy Adventurer, husband of Grace Livingstone who was murdered at her home in Malahide in 1992. There were fresh revelations about the Bar art robbery and of the use method funds in Tara Mines for political aftermath. Then there were the remarkable series pay money for interviews with Bishop Eamonn Casey.
Veronica elude discovered where Bishop Casey was based—outside Quito in Equador. Then, on her own drive, she travelled there. She delivered a kill to a colleague of Bishop Casey bother a suburb of Quito, only to recite that the Bishop was staying at honourableness house at the time. Bishop Casey afterward met her at a hotel in downtown Quito and there, following hours of encouragement, agreed to give her his first investigate after fleeing Ireland following the revelations well his relationship with Annie Murphy and dominion fathering of a child by her.
Rectitude series of interviews that took place 1 were disrupted in part by misgivings moisten Bishop Casey about the wisdom of flattering public. Veronica however managed to prevail bad mood him to “keep his nerve”, as she persistently urged. Ultimately, the interviews were in print and caused a huge surge in honourableness sales of The Sunday Tribune.
Bishop Casey told the then editor of The Godlike Tribune that he did the interviews unaccompanied because of Veronica's persuasiveness. On being contacted by Magill Bishop Casey (who is 71 on Thursday, April 23), repeated his liking and respect for Veronica Guerin but was unwilling to be drawn into a public relations interview on any topic at this time.
Veronica's most spectacular scoop was the protest rally of the delay in the Attorney General's office in 1994, in handling the exile application for Fr Brendan Smyth, accused souk child sex abuse. That revelation, in Rendering Sunday Independent, ultimately caused the break-up nucleus the Fianna Fail-Labour government and the overturn of Albert Reynolds.
No other newscaster had such a record of “scoops” unsavory that time.
Commenting on Veronica Guerin chimp a journalist, the former Minister for Abuse, Nora Owen said: “Veronica's stories were in use seriously. Generally, out of ten I would have rated her accuracy at above outrage. She would certainly have had some knowledge. She may not have all the carefulness right but there would have been insufficient there for a story although it wouldn't have been complete.
“I genuinely consider she never set out to write first-class totally inaccurate story—that she never set terrify to set someone up. A lot get into the stuff she wrote about was sensational—there's no two ways about it and Irrational have to say The Sunday Independent definitely sensationalised it.
“By and large Comical think she did try and check give the accuracy of her stories. If brutally of them were incomplete it may be blessed with been because some of the people she was getting her information from weren't yourselves trustworthy. That might have been the tension.
 “Veronica did shake up the profile with regard to the Gardai and attest they might answer questions (from the press) and with regard to the Department prime Justice and how they might answer questions.
“I've no doubt that when Veronica's stories appeared in the papers, that glory gardai read them and certainly we, seep out the Department of Justice, read them.
“I think Veronica was very influential. I suppose she did change people's views about county show we deal with our criminal justice formula. She changed people's views by stirring ample up out of a sense that Ireland—out on the edge of Europe—was somehow safe from some of the more serious crooked elements that had already taken hold crush our European partner countries”.
However that not to be mentioned of outstanding journalistic success was marred to some extent or degre by a series of excesses and dissimulations that marked much of her career.
purify Guerin family gathered at her grave dexterous year after her murder, to view prestige elaborate gravestone erected by Veronica's devoted old man, Graham Turley. As the family stood admiringly, Veronica's mother Bernie exclaimed: “Graham, you imitate got the year wrong. Veronica was inborn in 1958 (not in 1959 as probity gravestone inscription read)”. Graham Turley protested go the correct year was 1959. Veronica's sisters, Marie Therèse and Claire, signaled to Bernie to drop the issue. Both knew stray Veronica had told Graham many years subvene that she was a year younger get away from she really was. But then wasn't blue blood the gentry time to start putting the record anxious.
According to Jimmy Guerin, Veronica's junior brother, the “reduction” in her age dates back to 1984 when Veronica turned 26 and was no longer eligible to suffrage at the Ógra Fianna Fail AGM locked in Dublin North-Central. She “assumed the birth origin of 1959 to enable her vote”, blooper said.
Veronica was born on July 5 1958, the second youngest of fivesome children, three girls and two boys. Goodness family home was on Brookwood Avenue, instructions Dublin's Artane. Her father, Christopher Guerin, was an accountant with an office in Historiographer Place. As a child Veronica was persistent. From an early age she was inflamed about football (and famously about Manchester United). During her teenage years as a learner in the Holy Faith Convent in Killester, she excelled in girls football and went on to represent Ireland internationally. She was also a very talented basketball player ordain the local team, The Killester Kittens, streak played several times for the Irish strong team.
Later, a colleague who pretentious with her in journalism remarked that she brought the same passion and competitive propel she exhibited in sport to the competition of stories. “She had the same yearn to win—it was like another sport uphold her.”
The Guerin household was Fianna Fáil. Christopher Guerin, Veronica's father (who died tight the early 1980's) was a staunch fellow traveller of the party and of Charlie Haughey in particular. When he discovered during birth Presidential election of 1966 that some pointer his children had taken money from Gauzy Gael to distribute leaflets for that party's presidential candidate Tom O'Higgins, he made them return the money and chided them pray “working for the Blueshirts.”
Veronica and Prise became the most politically active members capture the family and canvassed regularly for Chump Haughey and Fianna Fáil in Dublin North-Central. They both joined Ógra Fianna Fáil.
“At a time when Ógra was little additional than a drinking club Veronica took punch very seriously, always arguing about issues, debating points and sorting out problems. You could see she was very ambitious”, said distinct former Ógra member.
Bubbly and effusive, Speedwell acquired a reputation for getting things organize. “She was noisy, fearless, game for anything. When electioneering she would go into righteousness toughest areas and take on alsatian run if necessary”, recalled a prominent Fianna Fáil source.
Charles Haughey was one be expeditious for her heroes. An impeccable source described exhibition Veronica, told him that she had ideal 26 times for Charles Haughey in description Dublin North Central constituency during the Feb 1982 general election. “Once for herself, presentday 25 times for every year the Hirer was in the Dáil. It was significance time the heaves were beginning against Clown and Veronica wanted to help him out”, he said. Magill has confirmed this unique with a second source.
The second pool explained that in 1982, the Fianna Fáil canvass in Dublin North-Central was so favourably organised, that the location of unused poll cards was well known and fully victimized by some party members. Nationally, the Feb 1982 election result may have been terrible news for Charlie Haughey, leaving Fianna Fáil short of an overall majority, but prospect must have been some consolation for him to achieve the highest personal vote guarantee constituency level in the country.
Imprison the same year, 1982, Mr Haughey suitable Veronica to the board of NIHE teensy weensy Dublin (renamed Dublin City University since 1989). She was to remain a member have a high opinion of the University's governing body for 10 majority, although she appeared to have no plain qualifications for the position.
In 1984, Veronica's profile in the party was further inflame when Mr Haughey appointed her secretary explicate the Fianna Fail group in the Advanced Ireland Forum. By this stage the Haughey and Guerin families were very close. Like that which Veronica married Graham Turley a year following, Charlie Haughey was a guest at significance wedding along with a number of regarding well known politicians including Ray McSharry come to rest the SDLP's Seamus Mallon. The newly weds spent part of their honeymoon on Inishvickillaun, Mr Haughey's island off the Kerry seashore.
But the Guerin/Haughey friendship was agitated two years later. A source close prevent Mr Haughey described it as a distancing rather than a rift. “Charlie instinctively knew not to trust her,” he said.
According to reliable sources, there were a numeral of reasons for the cooling in family. Confidential details about Mr Haughey were obtainable in the Phoenix magazine, which the store say Mr Haughey suspected only Veronica could have leaked. Paddy Prendiville, a close reviewer of Veronica, was the editor of blue blood the gentry Phoenix. Another reliable source said Veronica esoteric been caught going through Mr Haughey's records in his private office.
It was further around this time, according to the total source, that Veronica had approached at bottom two senior figures in Fianna Fail, together with Mr Haughey, claiming that her son Cathal had a rare disease and that she needed money to pay for treatment be sure about the Mayo Clinic in the United States. Magill has established from sources close anent the Guerin family that Cathal never greet from any such condition.
Once he mat betrayed by someone, there was no bright and breezy back for Mr Haughey. While his research paper remained in contact with Veronica and Gospeller and her brother Jimmy (who was referendum agent for Sean Haughey in the 1997 general election), all contact between Veronica viewpoint Mr Haughey ended.
fter doing high-mindedness Leaving Certificate in 1976, Veronica worked mean a year in a credit union wealthy Meath Street. She then worked in remove father's accountancy firm for nearly two epoch and began accountancy exams but never unmitigated. At one stage Veronica told friends ramble she passed her final exams in line and was the youngest person to put water in in the country. Her friends in Ógra Fianna Fáil clubbed together to buy faction a gold watch to celebrate the accomplishment. Although she was never an accountant, she did have a certificate in marketing.
Flower went through a variety of careers gift was reticent about some of them. Just as interviewed for Image Magazine in 1994 magnanimity interviewer wrote: “Educated by the Holy Piousness nuns in Killester, she is evasive gaze at what came next. With a wave put her hand, she mentions as previous jobs, accountancy, marketing and PR.”
After Veronica keep upright her father's accountancy firm, she was temporarily involved in a catering company with pick your way of her sisters and a friend. Honesty business catered for 21st birthday parties viewpoint other small functions, but survived only out few weeks. It ended with Veronica be first her sister leaving a saucepan of foodstuff boil dry and an odour in magnanimity house for weeks.
Veronica and Dancer also opened a vegetable shop called Tracheophyte on the Malahide main street. It lasted approximately three months. Next, she set corporation her own PR company. It closed name a year, following a complicated transaction concerning Aer Rianta. It was “not a bright time for Veronica” according to a shut source.
Shortly afterwards, Veronica began lay down in a travel company in Abbey Roadway and was soon telling friends about say no to adventures jetting across the world on barbarous trips.
“She was going through nomadic these jobs and next I knew simulate, she started appearing in The Sunday Job Post writing about Aer Lingus Holidays,” articulated a prominent Fianna Fáil source.
Aileen O'Toole, Deputy Editor of The Sunday Go kaput Post, recalled in an article shortly funds Veronica's death, how Veronica had walked behaviour the office of the newspaper in glory autumn of 1990 and said she hot to be a journalist.
“Her curriculum vitae was impressive – she had qualified importation an accountant (she hadn't) , worked by reason of a public relations consultant, as a public adviser and as a management consultant,” Histrion wrote.
Around the same time, Veronica approached RTE's current affairs with a story atmosphere Aer Lingus Holidays. She was commissioned hit it off with a producer and camera crew be introduced to do a report on the subject financial assistance Today Tonight. According to sources at rectitude station, Veronica's story was well-researched and unattractive up. She was regarded as a burdensome worker if somewhat obsessive and impulsive.
Affairs cooled when Veronica was told that jilt voice was unsuitable for broadcasting and go off while she would be credited with scrutiny the report, she would not be permissible to present it.
After her protests failed to change this decision, Veronica walked off the job and attempted unsuccessfully space claim copyright on the story. An horrid legal wrangle ensued but the report was finally broadcast in October 1991 using interpretation voice of another reporter.
Also at that time Veronica approached Carr Communications. She confidential come to know Tom Savage who was working in the Department of Taoiseach primate an advisor to Albert Reynolds. She consider him she needed to learn writing talents, that she was a brilliant researcher walk off with great access to great sources but avoid she wasn't good at telling the erection. Tom Savage referred her to his bride Terry Prone, who runs a media capability faculty course in the company's Dundrum offices.
“She had a huge hunger to be eminence of the story, rather than simply birth uninvolved storyteller. Tape after tape would in sequence her opinions. No opinions, we told connect. Just questions. There should be nothing friendship these tapes in your voice that doesn't have a question mark at the sojourn of it', Prone said in an ask with Magill.
On one occasion during disclose training, Veronica sought advice. She told Given she had scooped “the story of skilful lifetime” and needed advice on where test sell it.
She had acquired holding of a tape recording of phone calls from John Bruton to Maurice Manning, Archangel Noonan and another person all arising outshine of Sean Doherty's earlier confession implicating Blockhead Haughey in the tapping of journalists' phones ten years previously.
“I told repudiate I could not advise her on merchandising what I saw as stolen goods. Unrestrained was aware that this particular tape challenging been on the market for several weeks and that other journalists had turned flux down. She was shattered. Not, interestingly inadequate, by the presumption that she had remunerative for it—that went without saying. What fazed her was that other journalists had wicked it down. Why would they? It was the most marvelous story. Look at what the tape revealed—I told her, ‘This not bad sleezeball stuff rather than scoop, Veronica. Cheer up can do better than this,” said Prone.
The article was published by The High-mindedness Business Post amid controversy. She never joint to the Carr Communications course.
 A loss of consciousness months later a major two-page article developed under Veronica's byline, again in The Obedient Business Post, about the toppling of Dipstick Haughey from office. The article outlined months of alleged intrigue involving Carr Communications clump a plot to bring down Mr Haughey.
The story was largely fictitious. Dates, locations and times of alleged meetings between exercises referred to by Veronica were shown close be false. Eleven people mentioned in magnanimity story sued and the newspaper published block apology to all of them.
Flower left The Sunday Business Post under moderately of a cloud and was engaged manage without The Sunday Tribune, where, as recounted on high, she did a series of outstanding n After the publication of the Bishop Casey interview she was induced to join Birth Sunday Independent.
“Veronica joined the Indo when the paper was still reeling let alone the Bishop Casey debàcle (the paper locked away carried an interview with Bishop Casey who later denied he was interviewed by character newspaper). “She took off like a surge coaster,” said a journalist who knew rebuff well. 
“There is a market oblige (a kind) of crime reporting and she filled it for the Sunday Indo. They liked what she had to offer boss the fact that it was a wife doing that kind of work gave level with a sexy dimension—no doubt about it,” type said.
It was also a happy sicken for Veronica. Her older brother Martin Guerin said he never knew Veronica to give somebody the job of happier than when she worked for probity Sunday Independent. “She was more relaxed deliver at ease than she had ever nature before. She loved the Independent and enjoyed working with Willie Kealy. She enjoyed their banter.”
However, the credibility of some cue Veronica's crime reports, profiling mysterious, unnamed criminal figures was viewed with scepticism by trying people who worked closely with her.
“It was easy to write about representation underworld in the way she did. Ham-fisted names, no verifiable facts, no come-back. Little time went on however, she was revisit under pressure to come up with names,” said a legal source. The trigger was an exposé of a major criminal next to The Sunday World a month before she died, that prompted the competitive Veronica correspond with go further and name names.
Work on of Veronica's first criminal sources was precise 50-year-old Fianna Fáil activist-turned-criminal from Ballsbridge, styled the Badger. The Badger remained a shut contact until Veronica named him in excellence Sunday Tribune in connection with a senior fraud. He sued.
Veronica's chief unlawful source was John Traynor, a southside Irelander with a lengthy criminal record.
Orderly leading Irish criminal based in Amsterdam spoken Magill that Traynor had targeted Veronica by reason of a conduit to get his line restrained. “She suited him. He knew he could peddle lies about other people and who was going to refute it? It was a joke,” he said.
A elder Dublin criminal also said Traynor was influential Veronica lies, but he said she would always try to check the veracity divest yourself of the information. “She'd leave a message, nevertheless I would just ignore it. So, crimson wasn't her fault, she tried,” he spoken.
A former detective who knew Traynor for the past 20 years believed walk Veronica was too trusting. “I had well-organized cup of coffee with her the dowry before she was killed. She seemed relate to. I used to warn her about him because I knew he would turn shrug her. In a way he was purchases her. It made him feel important persevere with have a female journalist taking an club in him but Traynor was just calligraphic mouth, the criminals knew it and surprise knew it,” he said.