Retired detective sergeant Maurice Walsh has denied that gardaí put "the frighteners" on a key witness in the Ian Bailey case.

A former garda detective inspector yesterday denied, as an “outrageous lie”, a claim by Marie Farrell he exposed himself to her in the toilets of Schull golf club sometime in summer 1998 while asking wasn’t it a thrill to be “fitting up” Ian Bailey.

Marie Farrell yesterday insisted she was telling the truth when she told a Garda inquiry a detective sergeant apologised to her over an incident in which she alleged he exposed himself to her before saying words to the effect “fitting up” journalist Ian Bailey was a “turn on”.

A garda detective sergeant exposed himself to a woman who had given evidence against Ian Bailey telling her "isn’t it a real turn-on fitting up the long black bollocks or the English bastard or whatever they call him", she told the High Court yesterday.