hangings at the end of the Nine O'Clock News. The report by Tadhg Enright displayed the paintings, obtained an appraisal (of zero) from an art expert, and mentioned that Cowen was "not thought to have posed for the anonymous artist". The report was not used on subsequent newscasts. On 24 March, the Nine O'Clock News included an apology "for any personal offence caused to Mr Cowen or his family or for any disrespect shown to the office of Taoiseach by [the prior] broadcast." The original item was removed from the online archives at RTÉ.ie, and the apology added. Today FM On 24 March, The Ray D'Arcy Show on commercial radio station Today FM, covered the story. Producer Will Hanafin revealed that a friend of the artist had e-mailed photographs of a similarly styled painting to him in January, a caricature of the Taoiseach urinating in a full frontal nude pose. This painting has not been displayed publicly. A Garda detective visited the station requesting the emails. The Garda was said to have been "sheepish and apologetic" about the visit but indicated that he had received an order from "on high" to initiate an investigation. Hanafin refused to comply with the Garda request and, being told that a search warrant would be sought, labelled the entire affair as "crazy". Abroad The incident was covered by foreign newspapers, including The Times of London. It was also covered in Canada. Online Blogs and social network services such as Twitter were reported to be popular outlets for members of the general public to express their dissatisfaction at the attempted censorship and apology of RTÉ. A YouTube video of the original RTÉ news report had received more than three thousand views within twenty-four hours. The affair was nicknamed "Picturegate" and "Cowengate" in online discussions. Garda investigation The Garda investigation was said to have taken six hours. The possible crimes were offending decency, incitement to hatred, and criminal damage for nailing the painting to the wall (though it has also been reported that paintings were hung without the use of nails). Investigators telephoned Casby and he entered Pearse Street Garda Station where he was interviewed for two hours, admitted to having hung the two paintings and was subsequently released. He gave gardaí five more portraits of other politicians, including Michael McDowell. A file was prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions, but it was expected that