O’Callaghan paid for SF protest, tribunal hears

PROPERTY developer Owen O’Callaghan paid for a Sinn Féin-led protest by south Dublin residents who picketed Dublin County Council offices in support of the Quarryvale project, the Mahon Planning Tribunal heard yesterday.

Former lobbyist Frank Dunlop — described by tribunal lawyer Patricia Dillon SC as Mr O’Callaghan’s “lieutenant in Dublin” — recalled how the busload of protesters, led by SF activist John McCann, descended on the O’Connell Street offices in December 1991.

Mr Dunlop said he paid for the event and subsequently billed, and was reimbursed by, Mr O’Callaghan.