Two gardaí in this car arrived unannounced at the home of journalist Gemma O’Doherty (top) last night

Yesterday evening, a male and female Garda, dressed in plain clothes, arrived unannounced at the home of journalist Gemma O’Doherty.

She had just arrived home, had parked her car and she was entering her house when they approached her.

They said that they were members of An Garda Siochana and mentioned a communication Ms O’Doherty had made with the Garda Commissioner Noirin O’Sullivan.

Finding the situation intimidating, Ms O’Doherty immediately asked them to leave.

Ms O’Doherty believes it was in relation to her ongoing investigation into allegations of malpractice in the Raonaid Murray murder investigation.

They refused to leave a number of times despite being asked and it was only when Ms O’Doherty said that they were being recorded and that she would be seeking legal opinion, that they left.

Ms O’Doherty legal team have been informed of the incident and she has also written to the Minister for Justice and a number of other Dail deputies.

Their visit followed a complaint made by Ms O’Doherty to the Data Protection Commissioner some months ago – after the Garda Press Office gave Ms O’Doherty’s private email address to a garda from Dun Laoghaire Garda Station.

In relation to that complaint, after some months, the Data Protection Commissioner eventually found that the guards had no case to answer and that it was acceptable for the Press Office to hand over private details of a reporter to other sections of the gardai.

Ms O’Doherty maintains it was not.

Ms O’Doherty feels the arrival of the two guards last night to her home was an act of harassment and intimidation.

Previously: Gemma O’Doherty on Broadsheet

Pic: Gemma O’Doherty

Rollingnews