William Geary; took 7 decades to clear name

NEW YORK -- William Geary, a former superintendent with Ireland's national police force who was fired in 1929 and spent seven decades trying to clear his name, died of heart failure Thursday at a Queens hospital, the Irish Times reported. He was 105.

Mr. Geary left Ireland when he was dismissed, accused of taking a $180 bribe from the Irish Republican Army in County Clare, where he was stationed.

He never returned to his homeland, but he began a letter-writing campaign to several successive Irish justice ministers to have his case reopened.

It took until 1999, when Ireland's former justice minister John D'onoghue pardoned Mr. Geary and gave him a superintendent's pension plus about $75,000 restitution.

A native of Ballyagran, County Limerick, Mr. Geary had spent his final years living in a retirement community.

In a 1999 Irish Times interview, Mr. Geary said the Irish government offered him a job if he would admit he was involved in the bribery, but he remained steadfast.

"Being innocent of the allegations made against me, I could not in good conscience fabricate some story to avail of the offer," he said.

Five months after being fired from the Irish Garda Siochana police, he was forced to immigrate to New York.

Mr. Geary retired from his job at an electrical company.