Looking back on life in the force

RETIRED Garda Vivian Cahalane still remembers the widespread fear that gripped people in local communities following the triple abduction and murder of three young people in 1994.

People in East Clare and South Galway were left numbed with shock when the body of Fr Joe Walsh, a priest from Galway who had been missing for five days, was found in Williamstown Harbour on May 8.
This was followed by the grisly discovery in a forest at Woodford on the Galway/Clare border of the bodies of Dublin-born Imelda Riney, 29, and her three-year-old son, Liam, who had disappeared from their home on April 29. All three had been shot dead for no apparent reason.
Brendan O’Donnell, 20, from Whitegate was arrested by gardaí on May 8 after a massive manhunt and subsequently died in prison following a court case.
Vivian, who retired recently, was working the night that O’Donnell was finally arrested and remembers when the call came through to Killaloe Garda Station that the murder suspect had been apprehended by two gardaí.
“People were living in fear at the time, particularly elderly people living in isolated areas, who were terrified. There was a huge relief when Brendan O’Donnell was caught.
“It was a very worrying time and gardaí were under a lot of pressure at the time to apprehend him. I remember when he was inside a garda cell, I spoke to him. I thought he was very aloof. It was very hard to put your finger on it. He had his own problems and difficulties,” he recalls.
This was one of the high-profile murders cases that Vivian was involved in, gathering evidence for a court prosecution and establishing alibis of accused.
The 53-year-old father-of-two also participated in the investigation of the murder of John Carroll, Cappamore, a deaf man who was found dead in a country laneway on December 4, 1998 at Garraun, Ballinahinch, Newport.
Describing this case as very “sad”, he recalls he was also involved in investigating the murder of Patrick ‘Paud’ Skehan, 68, of Ardnataggle, Bridgetown, a single farmer, who received head injuries when he was attacked, blindfolded and tied up at his home in April 1998.
Apart from these cases and dealing with families after tragic traffic accident fatalaties, Vivian loved working with other gardaí in the locality.
“I really enjoyed my time in the force and I always felt I was here for the long haul. I am sorry for people who paid a high price for a house during the Celtic Tiger and are now struggling to pay high mortgages following pay cuts. The pay for gardaí was cut drastically in recent years and it would be very difficult for any young garda to buy a house now,” he said.
His 27-year-old son Wayne, who followed in his footsteps, is a garda based in Limerick City, while his daughter is Montessori teacher in Syndey, Australia.
Born in Castlehaven in South-West Cork in 1957, he was one of a family of 11, with five brothers and five sisters. His mother, Kathleen, was a teacher in the local national school and his father, Patrick, ran a suckler cow enterprise, as well as “too many horses”.
Vivian attended Castlehaven National School, where his passion for Gaelic football was nurtured and this was fostered even further in St Fachtnan’s CBS in Skibbereen.
He loved playing with Castlehaven at underage level, including minor and U-21 as a promising wing-back. After completing his Leaving Certificate in 1975, he started working in construction as a block layer and was very reluctant to leave this job when he decided to join the gardaí.
The fact that Vivian had never been away from home for an extended period on his own made his first trip to the Garda Training College in Templemore on December 28, 1977 even more daunting for the raw recruit.
Even though he was by his own admission a reluctant recruit, this didn’t stop him making his mark and he even scooped a top-of-the range electric razor after being judged the best overall recruit.
The overall training lasted 22 weeks, including three months practical experience. On June 1, 1978, Vivian passed out and went to Listowel in North Kerry, the hometown of the legendary playwright and author, John B Keane. Gaelic football continued to be one of his main past times once he transferred to Listowel Emmets.
Vivian trained and played with the late and great Kerry footballer, Tim Kenneally and also socialised with him in some of the 53 licensed premises in the North Kerry town. During his stint with the club, Vivian played senior league games on a regular basis but didn’t manage to feature in the championship side, where the competition for a place in the starting line-up was intense.
He also met the love of his life, Caroline O’Sullivan from Ballylongford in 1980 and they got married on February 11, 1982.
Shortly afterwards, he was transferred to Killaloe Garda Station, where he remained until his recent retirement. Now living in Ballina, just across the historic 13-arched bridge linking the two twin communities, he has no regrets about making the move. In fact, he quickly grew to love living on the shores of Lough Derg, which he has no hesitation in calling his adopted home.
His involvement in sport helped him to build up a huge network of contacts in South-East Clare and North Tipperary, which proved invaluable in obtaining information on crimes in the locality.
Shortly after his arrival in Killaloe, he joined Smith O’Brien’s GAA Club, where he played hurling at junior and intermediate level and built up a great bond of friendship with Detective Garda Gerry Moriarty, who also retired in recent times.
Gerry did a lot of work to promote football in Smith O’Brien’s and they made their own little piece of history by becoming the first East Clare team to defeat Naomh Eoin in the Clare junior football championship over 10 years ago. Vivian also played junior soccer with Derg Rovers in midfield or as centre-forward.
He also served as a mentor with numerous underage teams with Ballina and worked in the past with former Tipperary manager, Liam Sheedy and Noel Sheehy.