In the Summer 1999 issue of "The World of Hibernia" magazine is a photo of a still-handsome, spry old gentleman with his pipe and his cane sitting on a park bench. He is wearing his best jacket, soft cap, bow-tie and a smile of satisfaction. After 71 years of self-imposed exile, Irishman William Geary has finally cleared his name. In 1928, while a member of the Irish police force (the Garda Siochana) in Kilrush, Co. Clare, Geary was accused of accepting an IRA bribe. Although the charge was never proven, Geary was dismissed from his position as a superintendent without charges or trial. "I left Ireland because I was ashamed and branded a traitor," said Geary, who has professed his innocence from the first day the charges were leveled. He left his homeland at the age of 29, vowing not to return until his name had been cleared. After decades of writing letters to seemingly indifferent Irish politicians, Geary finally prevailed in obtaining the contents of his personnel file. Upon reviewing the so-called evidence therein, Geary requested a formal review. On April 22, 1999, Irish Minister for Justice John O'Donoghue declared that an injustice had been done in 1928 and awarded the New Yorker a lump-sum payment of 50,000 pounds and a pension of 17,500 pounds a year. "It was an uphill battle, but the law sustained me in the end," Geary said, "I'm extremely happy." For now the sprightly centenarian hasn't decided whether he will re-visit Ireland, preferring instead to remember it as it was seven decades ago. "At my age I have no plans," he said. "I'll play it by ear."