The Case I Can't Forget returns on Wednesday with the ATM heists that had the country talking back in 2019. John Byrne sets the scene with retired Detective Superintendent Alan Cunningham, who was at the centre of that investigation.
I've often wondered if your average criminal sits down of an evening to check out The Case I Can't Forget. Certainly, lots of folk watch the series as RTÉ's hit true crime series returns for another four-part season, revealing more behind-the-scenes stories of some of Ireland’s biggest criminal investigations.
Episode one will revisit the ATM Heists of 2018 and 2019 when the country watched incredulously as a criminal gang used stolen diggers to rip cash-filled ATMs from towns across Monaghan, Cavan, and Meath.
More of that in a moment.
This season also, for the first time, features a two-part special. It’s all about notorious Dublin criminal, Martin Cahill, and how his crimes shaped a generation of An Garda Síochána detectives over their decades-long pursuit of the man known as The General.
As they recall the successes - and failures - of the investigations and operations to destroy his criminal enterprise, we’ll discover from Cahill’s victims how his brutal crimes changed their lives forever and left them facing losses that could never be redressed.
The final episode looks at the seedier side of crime.
It will uncover the sexual slavery and human trafficking taking place in Irish market towns as Garda detectives describe the complex investigation that led to the first-ever convictions for human trafficking in Ireland.
The shocking testimony of the courageous women who not only came forward to Gardaí to share their experiences at the hands of these criminals but also braved the challenges of our justice system will also be shared.
But back to this week’s opener. It’s an amazing story.. And it had the whole country talking, as those ATM robberies were quite audacious. You might recall that they even inspired floats on Saint Patrick's Day parades.
With access to never-before-seen CCTV footage of the crimes in action, and interviews with officers from the Garda Emergency Response Unit and local Intelligence Units, this episode will reveal the gripping details of the covert operation to retrieve the stolen cash and smash the criminal ring.
Now retired, Detective Superintendent Alan Cunningham had command of local intelligence units during the investigation and the sting operation that caught the gang in Virginia, county Cavan.
John Byrne: Detective Superintendent sounds like a pretty serious job!
Alan Cunningham: It’s serious enough alright, though I’ve retired now. I was a Detective Superintendent in the Northern Region, which comprised of Cavan-Monaghan, Louth, Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim.
I would’ve been doing all the serious crime investigations around the border, and any cross-border investigations. I would’ve been leasing with the PSNI and all that type of thing.
This case in particular was one that really stood out though. I remember when it happened and being amazed at how brazen the robbers were...
There was a lot of pressure on ourselves, really, because it paralysed the commercial units in the affected towns. People were travelling to other towns and spending their money there. It had an impact that way.
And then there was pressure coming from governments, the Minister for Justice, and then on to the Commissioner. 'What are the Guards doing with this?’ And, ‘Lads, you better get your act together.’ That type of thing. So there was a lot of pressure coming down the line.
The reality is that, with the Guards, if you give them the resources - no matter what job it is - they’ll get it done. Just give them the money, give them the time, give them the equipment. That’s always the way it was with the Guards.
That’s been a bone of contentions for many years, that’s there’s not enough resources at their disposal?
Yeah, cutbacks and different things. I suppose, during austerity in 2008, things were cut back to nothing and then you’re expected to come up with the same results. Which was impossible, you know?
How would you rate, or even describe, this particular case? Is it the wildest thing that happened during your time in the Garda?
That would’ve been one of the high points. There was so much media attention and focus on this gang. And to be able to catch them red-handed, to put them away, and to recover the amount of money that we did.
On the night in question, when we did apprehend them, we only had one guy in custody and the other two escaped. Later on the following day, we got Ciaran Duffy. Danny O’Callaghan came five months later.
It was disappointing we didn’t get them all on the one night but - as it happened then afterwards - when some of them got bail and went off to get more money, another €130-140,000 as a result of it.
That’s a classic situation, isn’t it? Guys get out on bail and then lead you straight to where the money is?
They think that we arrest them, then they get out [on bail] and we just forget about them. Obviously we don’t!
I’d imagine that the fact these guys weren’t a known criminal gang made it more difficult for the Garda? Especially given the niche skills required to use a digger to remove an ATM machine.
Well, I suppose from an intelligence point of view we’d have known that Danny O’Callaghan was involved. But there was nothing to link the Duffy brothers to it.
It was only then through a phone call that helped us make a connection, and then I started picking up surveillance and putting them on the Duffy brothers. To then see a pattern of contacts. The thing developed that way.
But the fact that they maybe weren’t experienced criminals also made it a bit easier to put surveillance on them.
And I remember there were ‘tribute’ floats on Saint Patrick’s Day parades...
Yeah. And there there were WhatsApps flying around. It was all kind of a circus really. A big laugh. But it was fair pressure for us really, because we had to get to the root of this and find out who they were.
And then to try and get ahead of them, where they were going to strike next. And that was it.
We had the intelligence. But the intelligence on its own is no good. You have to convert the intelligence into evidence. That’s what you need.
And you can see how it all unravels in Wednesday night’s opening episode of the new run of The Case I Can’t Forget, 9.35pm, RTÉ One.
