After 14 long years of judicial delays, Trevor Bolger, a former detective with An Garda Síochána, was finally brought before a court.
In 2012 he brutalised his then wife over an hour while they were at home with their infant children. But outrageously, he was served a mere three-month suspended sentence for this crime. Once again the agents of the state are shielding their uniformed agents from justice.
Margaret Loftus – the former wife of Bolger and herself a member of An Garda Síochána – explained how when she came forward, the Garda shunned and silenced her. Such were the frustrating methods employed she said she felt the investigation was “as traumatising and damaging as the abuse”.
In the meantime, Bolger was given a “glowing” character assessment because he looked after his parent and stopped drinking alcohol…
The injustice is blatant. Under the guise of fearing for his safety – because he could share a cell with former convicts of his – Bolger was exempt from serving any jail time at all.
Yet the same Bolger was promoted to the rank of detective and given access to firearms only weeks after being investigated for severe domestic abuse! Where was the concern for safety then?
It’s inconceivable that the Garda Commissioner was unaware of the investigation before overseeing his promotion. Yet Bolger’s history of violent outbursts clearly did not factor into their considerations.
It’s also clear as day that this is not a case of just ‘one bad apple’ – violence against women is endemic to this sick system, as it is the state’s failure to bring any semblance of justice to them.
In 2024, 44 per cent of women found the gardaí to be unhelpful when reporting domestic abuse.
In fact Bolger’s case is not an isolated incident, there are numerous cases where gardaí themselves have been the perpetrators of terrible abuse. From 2022 to 2025 there have been 57 complaints of sexual misconduct filed against gardaí.
With such a bleak track record, what are women and victims of abuse supposed to think? That when they are subjects of abuse, the state likely will do nothing to help them. Moreover, if the abuser happens to be one of the state’s hired thugs, then they could even punish and humiliate victims for coming forward, while protecting their own.
And of course this is not limited to the gardaí and the courts. The state has a memorable history of sweeping abuse under the rug.
From the legacy of the Catholic Church to monsters in the defence forces and now the Epstein files revealing minors being trafficked to Ireland for the sexual pleasure of wealthy predators. All of this is only further proof of how deep the rot goes.
There is no end to women’s oppression under capitalism. All institutions of capitalist rule are soaked down to their foundations in the blood of generations of women.
Our society will remain infested with violence against women so long as we have a system based on exploitation and oppression. Only with a socialist society can we truly see an end to women’s oppression.
