Top lawyer blew whistle on garda corruption

A senior criminal lawyer who represented the McBrearty family was the whistleblower who helped uncover shocking corruption and negligence among gardaí in Donegal, it was confirmed today.

Brendan Howlin, Labour Party TD, who last month lost his Supreme Court battle to keep the name secret, revealed that Martin Giblin SC had approached him more than five years ago with damning allegations against a string of officers.

The Wexford TD said Mr Giblin told investigators at the Morris Tribunal two years ago that he was the trusted informer who passed on crucial information about crooked gardaí which led to the inquiry being set up.

But the tribunal chased Mr Howlin to the highest court in the land in an apparent bid to get the name.

“If there was an absolutely compelling reason that this information was discernible by no other source there would be some coherent case, but once the information had already been given to them why this happened is a mystery to me,” Mr Howlin said.

“It is a distraction from the important work the tribunal is undertaking, the important work that must continue.”

Mr Howlin said that among reams of legal papers required for the Supreme Court hearing there was a sworn affidavit from a solicitor for the tribunal that Mr Giblin admitted on October 24, 2003 that he was the mystery informant.

Despite this, costly cases were brought in the High Court and then the Supreme Court to force Mr Howlin to hand over phone records and other correspondence to identify his trusted informer.

Mr Howlin and Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte called on the tribunal to explain the need for such legal battles when they already had the whistleblower’s name.

A spokesman for the Morris Tribunal refused to be drawn on why Mr Howlin was pursued through the courts.

“We have no confirmation of the actual content on any information on foot of the Supreme Court order, until we do we are not in a position to make any comment,” the spokesman said.

The Supreme Court ruled on December 20, 2005 that Mr Howlin and telecoms company, eircom, must hand over details, including phone records, documents, memos and letters regarding the informant.

Mr Howlin could face a massive legal bill after losing the case.

He complained that the court ruling had weakened the Oireachtas. He warned that the role of public representatives as people to reach out to had been undermined.

Mr Howlin said he had been asked on two separate occasions to keep Mr Giblin’s name secret. But he said that he was relieved of any confidentiality deal on Monday.

“He [Mr Giblin] acted impeccably and in good faith in all of this,” Mr Howlin said.

“He reached out in the very early stages of this, outlining to me a series of appalling activities that he believed were unprecedented in his 20 plus years of being involved in criminal law.”

Mr Howlin and then Fine Gael Deputy Jim Higgins approached Justice Minister John O’Donoghue in 2000 with allegations of garda corruption in Donegal which led to the setting up of the Morris Tribunal.

“The irony is the tribunal would not exist had it not been for the determination of Jim Higgins, myself and others,” Mr Howlin added.