Osgur Breatnach granted miscarriage of justice certificate over Sallins mail train robbery conviction

Osgur Breatnach has been granted a miscarriage of justice certificate by the Court of Criminal Appeal in relation to his conviction for taking part in the 1976 Sallins mail train robbery.

Breatnach was convicted by the Special Criminal Court in 1978 alongside Brian McNally and Nicky Kelly, receiving a 12-year prison sentence before his conviction was later overturned on appeal. The Director of Public Prosecutions accepted that Breatnach "had no hand, act or part" in the robbery.

The Sallins mail train robbery took place on March 31,1976, when around £200,000 was stolen from a Cork-to-Dublin mail train near Sallins, Co. Kildare. Five men, including Breatnach, Kelly and McNally, were arrested in connection with the robbery, but the case became infamous after allegations that confessions had been extracted through Garda brutality.

Breatnach and McNally were acquitted on appeal in 1980 after the Court of Criminal Appeal found their statements had been obtained under duress, while the Provisional IRA subsequently claimed responsibility for carrying out the robbery.

The Sallins trials remain among the most controversial in Irish legal history, marked by allegations of Garda brutality, coerced confessions and perjury, as well as the so-called "Sleeping Judge" controversy.

Human rights organisations, including Amnesty International, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and the Pat Finucane Centre, have continued to call for an independent public inquiry into the treatment of the Sallins Men.

Speaking outside the Criminal Courts of Justice, Breatnach paid tribute to his friend Brian McNally, who died in recent weeks before seeing today's outcome.

"Six weeks ago, I attended the funeral of my friend Brian McNally," Breatnach said.

"He did not live long enough to witness the measure of vindication I received today."

Breatnach also renewed calls for a public inquiry into the actions of the State during the investigation and prosecution.

"We are not just innocent men, we are victims of serious crimes against us," he said.

"False alleged 'confessions' were coerced through brutality and torture... As a result of deliberate criminal actions by the State, bringing about systemic injustice, resulting in prolonged unjust imprisonment, damage to our health, as well as destroying our reputation and permanently affecting our lives, we are still calling for an independent public inquiry."

He argued that the case remains unresolved despite the latest ruling.

"The public are told it is a historic case," Breatnach said. "It is not historic. It is current and unresolved. There is unfinished business. The Government seems content with leaving criminal activity go unpunished, unrecognised, or not confronted; they are content to leave a stain on the name of An Garda Síochána."

Nicky Kelly, who was also wrongly convicted in connection with the robbery, survived a 62-day hunger strike before being released from prison on humanitarian grounds in 1984. He later received a Presidential pardon from Mary Robinson in 1992 and went on to write as a columnist for Hot Press for a number of years following his release.

Brief addresses were also delivered outside the court by Breatnach's solicitor Kevin Winters of KRW LAW and Joe O'Brien, Executive Director of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, both of whom reiterated calls for an independent inquiry into the treatment of the Sallins Men.