Osgur Breatnach's wrongful conviction for Sallins train robbery declared miscarriage of justice

Osgur Breatnach's wrongful conviction for the Sallins train robbery in 1976 has been officially declared a miscarriage of justice, half a century after the crime. The robbery occurred on March 31, 1976, when the Cork-to-Dublin mail train was diverted near Sallins, Co. Kildare, and approximately £200,000 was stolen.

Breatnach was found guilty in December 1978 by the non-jury Special Criminal Court. However, his conviction was overturned 18 months later when the court determined his confession had been extracted under duress. At the Court of Appeal on Tuesday, Judge Isobel Kennedy cited newly discovered alibi evidence as the basis for declaring a miscarriage of justice.

The Director of Public Prosecutions did not dispute that this constituted new evidence. Breatnach, now 75, has consistently asserted his innocence, stating he had "no hand, act or part" in the robbery. The court found that the threshold for granting a miscarriage of justice certificate had been met.

Breatnach was among several members of the Irish Republican Socialist Party arrested following the robbery. During interrogation, three men provided alleged confessions and reported injuries sustained while in Garda custody, specifically from the "Heavy Gang" unit. Amnesty International reported on this unit's treatment of prisoners in 1977. Breatnach was sentenced to 12 years but released in May 1980 after his conviction was quashed.

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no hand, act or part