The fourth of November 1996 passed off very quietly. There were no official events organised to celebrate a date which marks a milestone in Garda history. For 35 years earlier a number of young Gardai rebelled against stifling bureaucracy and authoritarianism in what was later to become known as the "Macushla Revolt", an event which was to change the course of the Garda for good.

The young Gardai had been refused a pay award given to their older colleagues and in frustration met in the Macushla Ballroom in Dublin in direct contravention of the Commissioner's orders. At the time, a number of young Gardai were so disillusioned that they were prepared to leave the Force and pursue an alternate career. Apparently it was the opinion of some of those disillusioned officers to "have a meeting, cause havoc and then leave", as they had made other plans already. The fact of the matter is that they stayed on, such was the success of the protest and many later held senior posts in the representative bodies that were to come. A few hundred Gardai attended the meeting and as they entered Inspectors from every division noted the names of anyone they could recognise.

Eleven of the Gardai were dismissed as a result. But the sackings set off a chain of events which ultimately led to the setting up of the Conroy Commission and an outstanding improvement in Garda pay and conditions.

The Macushla Revolt was a product of latent resentment within an authoritarian, hierarchical organisation. The pay Issue ignited this discontent in the Force. The pay award was agreed at Conciliation in October 1961 and accepted by the Representative Body (RB). But officers with less than three years service were not included in the award. This was seen by younger Gardai as discriminatory and symptomatic of their powerlessness to influence improvements in their archaic working conditions. It also highlighted the ineffectiveness and utter incapacity of the RB to represent their vital interests.

In effect the pay award would never have been accepted if the wishes of the younger members were represented. Clearly the problem was not just the pay award itself, but the method in which it was devised and agreed upon. The RB at the time was a single body representing all ranks but in practice this obviously was not the case.

Without any legitimate institutional organ to communicate its interests and grievances, a power vacuum arose which was quickly filled by a number of young officers led by Dick Keating, a Detective Sergeant from Whitehall. Meetings were held in secret in Dublin and throughout the country.


THE MACUSHLA

A large meeting was called for Saturday, November 4th, at the Macushla Ballroom, Amiens Street, Dublin. During the build up to the meeting, dire warnings were given to any Gardai thinking of attending. In any event the meeting took place, members' names were taken, and this later resulted in 160 members receiving charge notifications for discreditable conduct. The days after the meeting were tension filled. A go-slow policy was operating among Gardai in the city centre. Trivial offences such as illegal parking and street trading were ignored by the Gardai. An air of expectation was hanging over the Force; how long would this stand-off between the Commissioner and the Gardai last?

Five days later on November 9th, the Minister for Justice Charles Haughey issued a statement stating that once he was satisfied that discipline had been restored, he would undertake an examination of the existing negotiating machinery available to the Gardai and if it proved wanting, improvements would be made.

This statement was greeted by the Gardai as a sign that the issue identified by younger officers was finally going to get a hearing and perhaps even a remedy. But at 6 p.m. that very day, any such hopes were dashed. The Commissioner, Daniel Costigan issued the following order to 11 members of the Force: