This case was brought by the Defendant to the High Court as they considered that the claims made by the Plaintiff were an abuse of the process and were in fact res judicata.

Garda Máire O’Reilly, (the Plaintiff) joined An Garda Síochána in 1994. In 2009, she made a formal complaint of bullying, harassment and sexual harassment against fifteen members of An Garda Síochána based at the Ballymote and Manorhamilton Garda Stations. Her complaint was investigated by a Chief Superintendent and submitted to the Assistant Commissioner, however it was not upheld. After a recommendation from the Board of Inquiry was released to the Garda Commissioner, the Plaintiff was ultimately dismissed from her employment in September 2014. She exercised her right to appeal this decision in 2014, with Irvine J in the Court of Appeal stating that ‘her failure to fully engage with her upcoming appeal will undoubtedly bring to a close any prospect she has, whatever that may be, of successfully defending the breach of discipline alleged against her.’

The Plaintiff then issued a plenary summons in 2017 and applied ex-parte to the High Court for an interim order restraining “the going ahead of the proposed internal disciplinary appeal”. An order was then made which restrained the Defendant from proceeding with same. In the High Court, Allen J held that the Plaintiff’s complaints identified in her replying affidavit were res judicata (a matter that has been adjudicated by a competent court and therefore may not be pursued further by the same parties). The court opined that the complaints were all advanced and adjudicated upon in her previous action.  However, the court was not satisfied that the Defendant’s had proved the Plaintiff’s action to be entirely vexatious and therefore Allen J allowed the Plaintiff to challenge separate inquiries which had been made in 2010. 
http://www.courts.ie/Judgments.nsf/09859e7a3f34669680256ef3004a27de/3d7afe01d7a8a88d802583d600466326?OpenDocument#top