O’Callaghan bailed out councillor, tribunal hears

PROPERTY developer Owen O’Callaghan bailed out Fianna Fáil councillor Colm McGrath — a major supporter of his Quarryvale project in west Dublin — when he couldn’t pay a debt, the Mahon Planning Tribunal heard yesterday.

Lobbyist Frank Dunlop recalled how Mr McGrath phoned his office on May 21, 1992, saying he was being sued for more than £10,000, didn’t have the money to pay, and faced court judgment that day.

In 1992, said tribunal lawyer Patricia Dillon SC, £10,000 was “an awful lot of money” and, in today’s terms, would be equal to about €40,000.