NORWEGIAN executive Hans Myhre told the Moriarty Tribunal yesterday he was “shocked and upset” to discover his signature on a cheque linked to a £4,000 (5,078) donation to Fine Gael.

THE consortium beaten to the country's second mobile phone licence will proceed with a multi-million euro civil action against the State irrespective of the Moriarty Tribunal's findings, said Persona chairman Tony Boyle.

ATTEMPTS by chairman Denis O’Brien to gain control of Esat Digifone threatened to collapse the Irish/Norwegian consortium bidding for the country’s second mobile licence, a witness told the Moriarty Tribunal yesterday.

DAYS before Esat Digifone got the licence to run the country’s second mobile phone network in May, 1996, Norwegian executives feared businessman Denis O’Brien would use his Dermot Desmond connection to gain control of the consortium, the Moriarty Tribunal heard yesterday.

NORWEGIAN executive Per Simonsen insisted at the Moriarty Tribunal yesterday that Esat Digifone chairman Denis O’Brien told him Communications Minister Michael Lowry had suggested, when the two Irishmen met in a Dublin pub, that he get financier Dermot Desmond to back the Digifone consortium.

PUBLIC relations consultant Eileen Gleeson told the Moriarty Tribunal yesterday she and the Esat Digifone consortium were surprised by the earlier-than-expected announcement of the winning bid for the country’s second mobile phone licence.

MANAGEMENT consultant Leslie Buckley, a former Esat Digifone director, complained at the Moriarty Tribunal yesterday he had been unfairly treated by the tribunal.

FINANCIER Dermot Desmond’s company prevented “World War 3” breaking out between Denis O’Brien’s Communicorp Group and Norwegian State telecoms firm Telenor, the Moriarty Tribunal heard yesterday.

ESAT Digifone would never have signed the country’s second mobile phone licence if the Department of Communications was unhappy financier Dermot Desmond had come on board, entrepreneur Denis O’Brien told the Moriarty Tribunal yesterday.

FINANCIER Dermot Desmond “gave us what we wanted” when he agreed to underwrite 60% of Esat Digifone, former consortium non-executive director John Callaghan told the Moriarty Tribunal yesterday.

ESAT Digifone’s 40-strong team worked 12-hour days behind blacked-out windows in basement offices as they prepared the consortium’s bid for the country’s second mobile phone licence, the Moriarty Tribunal heard yesterday.

MILLIONAIRE businessman Denis O’Brien told the Moriarty Tribunal yesterday his Esat Digifone consortium won the competition for the second mobile phone licence in 1995 because it was the best bid.

ENTREPRENEUR Denis O’Brien, who runs a business empire from his Algarve base in Portugal, is due to return to Dublin Castle next Tuesday to give further evidence to the Moriarty Tribunal about the controversial award of the GSM2 licence to Esat Digifone.

FOUR days before Esat Digifone got the licence to run the country’s second mobile phone network, businessman Denis O’Brien threatened legal action against financier Dermot Desmond, the Moriarty Tribunal heard yesterday.

FORMER Esat Digifone legal expert Jarleth Burke told the resumed Moriarty Tribunal yesterday he had never had any contact with Michael Lowry, Minister for Communications during the competition for the country’s second mobile phone licence in 1995.

ACCOUNTANT Donal Buggy told the resumed Moriarty Tribunal hearing yesterday the Department of Communications asked him to carry out a financial analysis of the Denis O’Brien-led Esat Digifone consortium just days before the State’s second mobile phone licence was issued.

MICHAEL Lowry’s predecessor as communications minister wanted civil servants to waste no time in selecting a winner to run the State’s second mobile phone system, the Moriarty Tribunal heard yesterday.

FORMER civil servant Fintan Towey told the Moriarty Tribunal yesterday he stood over the evaluation report that selected Esat Digifone as winner of the competition for the state’s second mobile phone licence.

A KEY member of the project team that evaluated bids for the State’s second mobile phone licence strenuously denied at the Moriarty Tribunal yesterday that civil servants deliberately decided against taking notes of crucial meetings.

FORMER civil servant Fintan Towey yesterday denied the reason department officials took no notes of a key meeting with Esat Digifone was to conceal what was being discussed before the GSM2 licence was issued.

FORMER senior civil servant Regina Finn told the Moriarty Tribunal yesterday there was nothing sinister in not keeping an official record of a key meeting with Esat Digifone representatives on May 3, 1996.

SENIOR civil servant Fintan Towey viewed a letter showing Dermot Desmond’s early involvement in Esat Digifone as the consortium’s attempt to boost its prospects of winning the State’s second mobile phone licence competition.

JUST weeks before civil servants chose Esat Digifone as winner of the State’s second mobile phone licence competition, Michael Lowry was under pressure from bidders who were concerned “the competition was sewn up and the media favourite had the licence in the bag”.

BUSINESSMAN Denis O’Brien was evasive and ambivalent during negotiations that secured his consortium the licence to run the State’s second mobile telephone network, the Moriarty Tribunal heard yesterday.

SENIOR civil servant Sean MacMahon agreed yesterday there was political or ministerial pressure to get the State’s second mobile phone licence competition concluded in October 1995.

A CIVIL servant told the Moriarty Tribunal yesterday he would have blown the whistle if he was pressurised from doing his job.

FORMER department secretary general John Loughrey told the tribunal yesterday he stood over the process that resulted in Esat Digifone getting the licence for the country’s second mobile telephone service.

FINANCIER Dermot Desmond has personally contacted Mr Justice Michael Moriarty on a number of occasions to complain about the way the tribunal is conducting its inquiry, the clearly annoyed chairman said yesterday.

FORMER department secretary general John Loughrey insisted yesterday there was nothing sinister in the fact that civil servants took no notes of vital meetings with Esat Digifone executives just days before the consortium got the country’s second GSM licence.

THE former department secretary general John Loughrey yesterday regretted allowing civil servants hold a press conference in April 1996 to defend their decision to give the second mobile telephone licence to Esat Digifone.

A RETIRED civil servant told the Moriarty Tribunal he never had any direct business dealings with financier Dermot Desmond.

A SENIOR civil servant told the Moriarty Tribunal yesterday he didn’t believe former Minister Michael Lowry interfered with the process by which Esat Digifone was selected to operate the country’s second mobile telephone network.

SENIOR civil servants didn’t tell former Communications Minister Alan Dukes that financier Dermot Desmond had held a 25% share in the consortium that won the country’s second mobile telephone licence, the Moriarty Tribunal heard yesterday.

SENIOR civil servant Martin Brennan told the Moriarty Tribunal yesterday he would have probed Dermot Desmond’s link to the second mobile phone licence if he had known about the financier’s part in an earlier controversial property deal.

ROWS between the Irish and Norwegian partners threatened Esat Digifone’s survival less than a week before the consortium was granted the licence to operate the country’s second mobile phone network, the Moriarty Tribunal heard yesterday.

RUMOURS surfaced that financier Dermot Desmond was an Esat Digifone shareholder when the consortium won the competition for the country’s second mobile phone licence, the Moriarty Tribunal was told yesterday.

A PERSON from Denis O’Brien’s phone company was found in an off-limits room used by bidders for the country’s second mobile phone licence, the Moriarty Tribunal was told yesterday.

ONE may wonder just what it takes to get a mention in the Limerick County Development Plan.

BUSINESSMAN Denis O’Brien pledged that Esat Digifone would remain Irish-controlled and there would be a three-to-one voting ratio in favour of the Irish investors, the Moriarty Tribunal heard yesterday.

FORMER Communications Minister Michael Lowry put the ESB under pressure to allow Esat Digifone masts and antennae for mobile phones onto some of its key sites, the Moriarty Tribunal was told yesterday.

FORMER Businesswoman of the Year Catherine Tiernan was glad she took time out last year after her son was born. She was only back at work a week when three-month-old Shane suddenly succumbed to meningitis within a matter of hours.

The Irish Republic now has the seventh highest percentage of mobile phone users in Europe, according to new figures from the Dublin-based Director of Telecommunications office.

The figures announced by mmO2 were in line with expectations showing an increase in the active customer base by 12.2% to €17.5m.