Death of key Mahon Tribunal witness

The businessman whose allegations exposed wide-spread political corruption in Ireland and brought an early end to the political career of former taoiseach Bertie Ahern has died.

Tom Gilmartin, who was in his late 70s, died at Cork University Hospital yesterday morning.

Mr Gilmartin was a key witness at the Mahon Tribunal into planning corruption and gave evidence of repeated demands for corrupt political payments by politicians and councillors after he returned to Ireland from Britain in the 1980s and tried to develop the Quarryvale shopping centre, now known as Liffey Valley, in west Dublin.