Witness was offered share of ‘million pounds payout’, court hears

ALLEGED IRA informant Adrienne McGlinchey offered a Morris Tribunal witness a share of a million pounds pay-out if he backed up her story over garda involvement in the mixing of explosives at a shed owned by her mother, it was alleged yesterday.

The tribunal heard details of the inducement made to Pearse Devine, a fellow witness at the garda corruption inquiry. Mr Devine’s sister Yvonne was once a friend of Ms McGlinchey and shared a flat with her in Buncrana, Co Donegal. She said she was anticipating a million pounds compensation relating to an allegation of harassment by the State and said she would see Mr Devine “right” if he went to her solicitor, as well as paying his expenses for going to Dublin, the court heard.

Mr Devine recalled: “She told me it was my chance to get my own back on the gardaí over a hoax telephone call.”

He explained the call had referred to the possibility that a member of his family had aided a successful break-out from London’s Brixton jail by his uncle, prominent IRA man Pearse McCauley.

Mr Devine said he told Ms McGlinchey: “I’m a lover, not a fighter,” and rejected the offer. Mr Devine also denied claims by Adrienne McGlinchey that he once supplied her with two walkie-talkie radio sets.

But he agreed that, when younger, his hobby was citizens’ band radio, and he had owned some such equipment.

The tribunal, chaired by former High Court President Mr Justice Frederick Morris, was established by the Dáil two years ago to investigate allegations of improper activity by gardaí in Co Donegal in the 1990s.

The current module of the inquiry is examining claims Ms McGlinchey, together with Det Garda Noel McMahon and currently suspended Supt Kevin Lennon, prepared explosives that were planted in locations subsequently found in bogus garda strikes against terrorism. Both officers have denied the allegations.