Garda disbelief at ‘wrong information’ claim

A CLAIM by Defence Minister Willie O’Dea that “wrong” information from gardaí in Limerick led to his false allegation that Sinn Féin councillor, Maurice Quinlivan was involved in running a brothel, has been greeted with disbelief by gardaí who were aware of the brothel investigation and journalists who covered the brothel story at Limerick District Court.

When the case was heard at Limerick District Court in January 2009, where three Brazilian women were prosecuted for running a brothel there was never any mention about the ownership of the apartment in Clancy Strand.

As one of the journalists who covered that case in court, I was approached by a woman as I left the courtroom, who told me “Quinlivan” owned the apartment. I never met this woman before or since. I subsequently made inquiries through a number of sources and each of these sources said Cllr Maurice Quinlivan had nothing to do with the apartment, but that in fact it was his brother Nessan Quinlivan who had the property.