Barron’s son ‘knew nothing’ of campaign to blame McBreartys

THE son of a Donegal cattle dealer said yesterday he knew nothing about a campaign to point the finger of blame for his father’s death at a local family.

Stephen Barron told the Morris Tribunal he knew nothing about slogans around Raphoe implicating the McBrearty family in the hit-and-run death of his father Richie.

Tribunal lawyer Anthony Barr, SC, asked Mr Barron if he knew of a campaign to mark and destroy the McBreartys.

“No, not to my knowledge,” Mr Barron said.

He added that he knew nothing about defamatory slogans, business cards and painting around Raphoe intended to blame the McBreartys for his father’s death.

Cattle dealer Richie Barron was killed in a hit-and-run accident in the town in October 1996.

Giving evidence to the tribunal yesterday, Stephen Barron also denied there was a meeting in his house where Superintendent Kevin Lennon told his family to get as many people as possible to court in Letterkenny when the McBreartys were summonsed.

In the tribunal’s first report Supt Lennon was found to have orchestrated hoax IRA arms finds in a bid to fast-track his career through the garda.

Tribunal lawyer Mr Barr, SC, claimed Supt Lennon had called for “the more the merrier” at the court appearances.

The McBreartys were summonsed to court more than 100 times over breaches of licensing laws at their pub in Raphoe.

Mr Barron said he attended court in Letterkenny out of interest.

“I might have been there on a few occasions. As far as I remember an aunt of mine had a summons as well, she had to give evidence and I might have been there through interest as well,” Mr Barron said.

“I went at the time my aunt was there for a bit of support.

“Why make a point, because I had an interest in the case? I had interest in it to see what was going on, to see what the outcome was going to be,” said Mr Barron.

He also claimed there was animosity between his family and the McBreartys to this day. And he added that would only be resolved if the reason for his father’s death became clear.

The Morris Tribunal is looking into allegations of Garda corruption in Donegal during the 1990s.

The current session is examining the events surrounding, and the investigation into, the death of cattle dealer Richie Barron.