SBP editorial: The endless cycle of tribunals shows we have learned nothing

The names trip off the tongue. Glackin, McCracken, Finlay, Moriarty, Mahon, Morris, Smithwick, Charleton, Ferns, Ryan, Murphy and Hamilton, to name just a few.

These names – and the memories they immediately trigger – tell you something significant about Ireland: that this country is addicted to tribunals of inquiry and commissions of investigation. For decades, such inquiries have been the recourse of choice for a variety of Irish governments looking to put a ...