A GREEN Party query played a role in the Limerick Leader releasing an audio copy of the devastating tape which helped topple Willie O’Dea from the cabinet, it emerged yesterday.
The editor of the Limerick Leader, Alan English, outlined why he changed his mind on releasing the audio of the explosive tape.
Up to last Thursday, Mr English had turned down all media requests for an audio copy of the tape of reporter Mike Dwane interviewing former minister Willie O’Dea, in which he made the brothel claims against Cllr Maurice Quinlivan.
Mr English made available a verbatim transcript of the entire segment of the interview relating to the brothel claims. However, a query from a Green Party source in Leinster House asking if he had destroyed the tape at the request of Willie, helped change his mind.
The audio copy was posted on the Limerick Leader website at 12.50pm on Thursday and released to RTÉ, who used it on the News at One ahead of an interview with Mr O’Dea.
It is widely held that the combination of the tape and this interview sealed his fate.
Mr English said: "There were widespread wild rumours going around Leinster House on Wednesday night that I had destroyed the tape at the request of Willie O’Dea, which is completely untrue. I got a call from a Green Party source in Leinster House about this claim. It was also being suggested there was some ulterior reason why we were not putting out the tape.
"Following Joan Burton’s speech in the Dáil in which she read out the verbatim transcript, we were overwhelmed with requests from radio and TV stations for an audio of the tape. Joan Burton also made a comment that Irish democracy deserved to have the tape played and we were getting calls from various media questioning why we were not putting it out.
"Having discussed the matter with Mike [Dwane] and Eugene Phelan [deputy editor], we had to ask ourselves if there was any good reason why we shouldn’t release it because it was being put to me, ‘was there an ulterior reason?’ As I said, having considered the matter again I saw no reason why we should not release the tape.
"I was also getting phone calls from people alleging that the tape contained different allegations and there were all kinds of crazy rumours swirling around, that it (the tape) contained other damaging information."
Mr English said the tape proved that the verbatim transcript which the newspaper had given out was word for word true.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Tuesday, February 23, 2010
