A former Taoiseach ordered Garda chiefs not to co-operate with an investigation into an IRA attack which killed 18 British soldiers in 1979, it has been alleged at a tribunal.

THREE former gardaí suspected of possible collusion with the IRA have firmly rejected claims that they passed on information which led to the murder of two senior RUC officers in March 1989.

ONE of two senior RUC officers killed by the Provisional IRA in 1989 expressed concern just hours before his murder that a garda based in Dundalk was passing on information to republican paramilitaries.

A former IRA commander involved in the ambush and killing of two senior RUC officers has been questioned by a tribunal probing allegations of garda collusion in the murders.

The Smithwick Tribunal legal team has met three former senior members of the IRA as part of its work, it was revealed today.