Can You Hear Me Now?

Mobile phones have become so common that they are an absolute necessity. Running late? Ring up and let them know you're on your way, don't hold dinner. Following someone? Ring up and let them know where the driver is going. That's the part that caused Brian Meehan a bit of a problem, however.

It's been ten years since Mr. Meehan was driving on the Naas Road on his stolen motorbike, jabbering away with Russell Warren. From Naas District Court towards Clondalkin, Mr. Warren followed behind Veronica Guerin and kept Mr. Meehan informed as to her whereabouts. After Mr. Meehan's friend on the back of the motorbike fired six shots into Ms. Guerin, they had little more to say to one another. Thanks to the wonders of our electronic age, the Garda Soichana was able to uncover each and every call, proving that Mr. Meehan and Mr. Warren were linked.

Brian's serving a life term for murder, and he's none too pleased that the courts turned down his appeal. It must be terribly annoying to learn that the police had access to your phone records and could prove that you were chatting to a man who confessed to following Ms. Guerin and then explained to the judges that the phone calls were meant to keep you informed so that you could come upon Ms. Guerin at a traffic light. Your man would expect some privacy when phoning, but there was the list of calls, full of incriminating details.

The legal minds employed by Meehan were hoping that the court would buy their argument, that the phone calls between a confessed accomplice in the witness protection program and their client were pure coincidence, or at least not evidence of collusion. Obviously, the judges did not buy it, as Mr. Meehan was turned down and sent back to prison for the rest of his days.

Not too long ago, John Gilligan went back to court to get some time taken off his sentence. The ringleader of the drugs gang that was responsible for the murder of Veronica Guerin, he did not fare well either. His equestrian center and other properties are still forfeited to the state, and his sentence was not reduced. If only he could put the bullets back in that gun. If only the batteries on the mobile phone had lost all power. If only the call had been dropped.