Dig-out donor didn’t mean to mislead tribunal

THE Manchester-based businessman John Kennedy said yesterday he did not intend to mislead the tribunal when he changed his original account of why he gave a cash payment to Bertie Ahern in the early 1990s.

Mr Ahern has told the tribunal he received about stg£8,500 in cash from a group of Manchester- based Irish businessmen. The dinner took place at the Four Seasons Hotel after the Taoiseach had travelled to Old Trafford to watch a game.

Asked if Mr Ahern had ever thanked him for his contribution, Mr Kennedy said he had not.

In July 2006, Mr Kennedy wrote to the tribunal saying he had given stg£1,000 to Mr Ahern “to support his efforts in changing the face of Irish politics”.

Having recently consulted a solicitor, Mr Kennedy now says his £1,000 was intended to help Mr Ahern, who had certain financial difficulties arising from his marital breakdown. But he insists he only became aware it was to be a personal donation when he arrived at the Manchester hotel.

He agreed he didn’t tell the tribunal this originally as he considered “it could be potentially embarrassing for Mr Ahern to refer to his marital situation in public and would be an unnecessary intrusion”.

Mr Kennedy said yesterday he gave the cash intended for Mr Ahern to an associate, the late Tim Kilroe, who had asked him to come to the Manchester function and “to bring a few bob to help a friend”.

Regarding earlier evidence, Mr Kennedy told Judge Gerald Keys: “I was not keeping anything from the tribunal,”

Tribunal lawyer Henry Murphy SC said Mr Kennedy was giving two totally different accounts, initially saying that “somewhat short of £10,000” was raised.

Now he was saying the figures in his original reply were “speculation on his part”. Questioned yesterday, he said he had no idea how much was collected.