The Indo Daily: Inside Ireland’s most notorious murders – the making of a garda forensic expert

Former garda John Sweetman is the author of ‘Identity: Murder, Fraud and the Making of a Garda Forensic Expert'. Photo: Steve Humphreys

For over 25 years, former animator and artist John Sweetman was a regular presence on the frontline of crime scene investigation in Ireland, piecing together the fragments left behind.

Within a year of leaving Templemore College, Sweetman had applied for, and won, a position in the fingerprints section of the Garda Technical Bureau. As he had predicted, he loved the work. He also loved, he adds with a laugh, the fact that he didn’t have to wear a uniform and that he was immediately made detective. Because of the specific nature of the work, he was able to “get behind the tape” at crime scenes, he said.

“There are plenty of guards who never get beyond the tape. I was getting stuck into crime scene investigation, which was fascinating. Every scene was a learning experience. I reckoned I was in the best place in the guards.”

Sweetman was involved in examining some of the country’s most high-profile murder cases, including the Kinahan’s first gangland assassination, the horrific Hawe family tragedy and the brutal killing of Jastine Valdez.

Following his recent retirement, Sweetman is pulling back the curtain on his life in the Garda Technical Bureau.

Today on The Indo Daily, Fionnán Sheahan is joined by John Sweetman, author of Identity: Murder, Fraud and the Making of a Garda Forensic Expert.

The Indo Daily: Inside Ireland’s most notorious murders – the making of a garda forensic expert