Justice Barr accused of ‘drawing conclusions’ before evidence is heard

THE chairman of the Barr Tribunal was accused yesterday of drawing conclusions on aspects of the Abbeylara siege before hearing all the relevant evidence.

Heated exchanges arose between senior barristers and Justice Robert Barr in relation to a line of questioning that has dominated much of the Tribunal the issue of why John Carthy was not given the cigarettes he requested.

All garda witnesses testifying before the Tribunal so far have been adamant that it was too dangerous for any officer to approach the house with the requested cigarettes.

But Justice Barr has put it to several witnesses that there must have been some way a packet of cigarettes could have been left on a windowsill or thrown into the yard over the course of the 24-hour siege.

He revisited the issue again yesterday with Superintendent Martin Maguire, expressing his belief that depriving a heavy smoker like Mr Carthy of nicotine was "a serious aggravating factor".

Justice Barr dismissed the superintendent's attempt to defend the failure to get the cigarettes to Mr Carthy, saying there was no danger in throwing the packet into the yard or through a window.

"There was no risk. I know that, you know that and there's no use in flogging that anymore," he said.

Counsel for the commissioner, Diarmuid McGuinness SC, interrupted to express his concern on these comments, saying no evidence had yet been heard from the members who were involved in the cigarette request.

"There is an appearance of a conclusion being drawn by the chairman without hearing evidence," he said.

Heated words were also exchanged between counsel for the gardaí, John Rogers SC, and Justice Barr over an alleged withholding of information by junior officers at the scene. Justice Barr had suggested the first two gardaí to arrive at Abbeylara had withheld details of a warning they received from Mr Carthy's GP from their superiors.

Mr Rogers, who is representing those two junior officers at the Tribunal, said it was unfair to suggest this without putting it to the gardaí involved. When urged by Justice Barr to move on from the issue, Rogers refused to do so, saying the Chairman had made "implicit" suggestions against his clients.

"I have a duty to ensure that they are not accused of matters they can't respond to," Mr Rogers said.