Garda denies bid to undermine wife’s credibility

GARDA detective Noel McMahon yesterday denied trying to undermine the credibility of his estranged wife in his evidence to the Morris Tribunal.

Quizzed about differences in evidence from himself and his wife Sheenagh about a time when bags of bomb-making materials were said to have been stored in their Buncrana garage, Garda McMahon insisted he had not been trying to suggest his wife was lying about the issue.

Giving evidence to the Dublin-based inquiry for a 20th day, he agreed he had changed his version of events. But he maintained: “I had no intention of bringing my wife’s credibility into question. If that was the side-effect, it was not intentional.”

Conceding he had been forced to think again about what had actually happened after providing differing evidence to an internal garda inquiry four years ago, he added: “It was a very trivial event in my life, so to speak, at the time.”

McMahon and detective colleague Superintendent Kevin Lennon have both denied that, together with alleged informer Adrienne McGlinchey, they prepared explosives for use in bogus garda arms finds.

Ms McGlinchey insists she was never an informer nor ever a member of the IRA.