PEER REVIEW
A Question of Honour
Congratulations on your book
This book is well written and well researched. Beginning with your history as a young Garda and moving rapidly through the ranks you give the reader a huge insight into the vagaries of the working life for serving uniformed members of An Garda Síochána and their families. It is an ideal corpus of work for the student of recent Irish history. From beginning to end you have chronicled the many political upheavals and internal aspects of the Garda Siochana, starting with the shenanigans of well-known politicians during the Arms Crisis of the 1970’s. It is incredible what members of the Gardaí, especially in Dublin, were expected to cope with during the early years of the Northern Troubles. It beggars belief how poorly protected the members were during riotous events.
The narrative covers my own history as I remember it during those turbulent years, albeit removed from it by distance. It gives one a deeper appreciation of the facts as they happened, seeing it through the eyes of the narrator. You have done a great job walking the reader sequentially through forty years of political and discordant phenomena interspersed with whimsical anecdotes.
It would appear from the text that you were something of a thorn in the side of the higher echelons, a force to be reckoned with. Your sense of humour added to the enjoyment of the book.
The latter part of the book gives great insight into the waste of public money due the failure of many to recognise the signs of the times.
Well done! I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of the Garda Síochána, and recent Irish History.
Res Ipsa Loquitr - Facts Matter
John O’Brien spent thirty-eight years in An Garda Siochana at a time when the state and policing went through transformational change. From chasing paramilitaries along the border to putting together cases against gangland crime figures he accumulated huge experience, all of which he retells in his new memoir A Question Of Honour. The retired Detective Chief Superintendent is also a keen student of the interface of politics and policing and offers some strong opinions on where it works and where it doesn’t.
JOURNALIST MICHAEL CLIFFORD
BLOGS AND COMMENTS
A Unique History of the Garda Síochána and Politicians - An Inside View
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Former Detective Chief Superintendent John O’Brien has not merely given us simply another police memoir. He has also provided a unique insider’s view of the complex relationship between policing and politics in times of challenge. Then, as a valuable bonus, he has set down an important narrative of the security mission, from a southern perspective, along the Irish border during the Troubles.
Conor Brady - Author