Garda tells tribunal the McBreartys were called ‘the Don Corleones’

A DONEGAL family implicated in the death of cattle dealer Richie Barron were labelled the Don Corleones, it was claimed yesterday.

Sergeant Brendan Roache said senior officers probing the fatal hit-and-run in Raphoe used the Mafia tag when referring to the McBrearty family.

He told the Morris Tribunal an officer said at a conference that “the Don Corleone family had a row last week”.

But Sgt Roache, who manned the incident room in the weeks after the death, said he was not sure who used the term.

He also said it was not clear why a family row could assist the inquiry. The McBreartys were implicated in the fatal accident on the basis of an anonymous statement and rumours spread by local people at Mr Barron’s wake.

The tribunal was later told there was a culture of secrecy among officers in the Donegal division.

Garda Tina Fowley, who is suspended from the force, said bits of information were revealed but no one questioned sources or details.

Garda Fowley said there was only a “drip-feed” of information implicating the McBreartys in the death. “It was rumour,” Garda Fowley said. “Garda John O’Dowd was the first man to have a lead in the investigation.”

She claimed Garda O’Dowd said there was more to Mr Barron’s death “than meets the eye”.

Garda Fowley was suspended in 2002 after Donegal nightclub owner Frank Shortt was cleared of drugs charges.

It was also claimed the McBrearty family was uncooperative and interfered with the investigation, in particular Frank McBrearty Senior.

Sgt Roache, who has almost 20 years’ experience in the force, said he thought Mr McBrearty senior was generally helpful with garda investigations in Raphoe. And he said he accepted that implicating the McBreartys in the death would have caused annoyance to the family.