Morris: 'Informer's' flatmate saw bags of powder

A woman who lived in the same block of flats as key Morris garda corruption probe witness Adrienne McGlinchey told today of seeing black bin bags full of a white powder in the hallway of Ms McGlinchey’s home more than a decade ago.

Ciara McLoughlin also recalled how two members of the Garda Siochana – whom she later knew to be central Morris Tribunal figures, Superintendent Kevin Lennon and Detective Garda Noel McMahon – had earlier entered her flat unannounced, looking for Yvonne Devine, who was Adrienne McGlinchey’s flatmate.

At the time, Ms McLoughlin said, Yvonne Devine – a niece of top IRA man Pearse McAuley – was hiding at the side of her bed, having entered the bedroom a few minutes earlier and saying that the gardai were looking for her.

The two guards, who did not identify themselves, left after failing to find Yvonne.

The following day two other gardai had arrived at Ms McLoughlin’s flat to apologise for the pervious events. And one of them, Detective Garda Noel Jones, asked Ciara to “keep her eyes open for anything strange” in relation to the McGlinchey-Devine flat.

It was after that that Ms McLoughlin – now a 28-year-old mother of six children – saw the bags of powder, which she had taken to be cement lime because of way it smelled. She also later saw a shotgun cartridge, and later reported both sightings to Detective Garda Jones.

On another occasion Ms McLoughlin claimed she was with Ms McGlinchey in Buncrana when Adrienne threw a bag over a bridge when a garda car approached.

Adrienne later explained that the bag had contained bullets and cartridges. Ms McLoughlin said the bullets had been obtained be her (Ms McLoughlin’s) husband for clay-pigeon shooting purposes.

When it was put to her by Mr Justice Morris that bullets were not used in clay pigeon shooting, she responded “Down our way, they use all sorts of things.”

That prompted the judge, before adjourning for the day, to say: “We are going to break off this nonsense at this stage.

“Would you, like a good girl, have a think about what you are telling me. And tomorrow morning, would you try to make a bit of sense.”

Asked by tribunal counsel Paul McDermott if she thought incidents like that were odd, Ms McLoughlin replied: “Not at the time, afterwards aye.”

Today marked the start of the ninth week of the tribunal into allegations of improper garda activity in Co Donegal during the 1990s.

The proceedings are being chaired by former High Court President Mr Justice Frederick Morris.

The current phase of the investigation is concentrating on allegations that Superintendent Lennon and Detective McMahon, acting with Adrienne McGlinchey, an alleged informer on IRA activities, prepared explosives that were later planted and then found in bogus garda finds, subsequently recorded as successful strikes against terrorism.

The explosive-mixing operations are alleged to have been carried out at the McMahon home in Buncrana, Co Donegal.

But the claims have been denied by both Superintendent Lennon and Detective McMahon, both currently suspended from duties, and Ms McGlinchey dismissed claims that she was ever in the IRA, or operated as an informer when she provided direct evidence over a period of days last month.

Earlier today, a garda witness agreed that his two colleagues accused of the involvement with suspect arms dumps, deserved no sympathy – if proven guilty.

Detective Sergeant Hugh Smith said that would be his view of Superintendent Lennon and Detective McMahon if they were found to have been mixing the explosives.

But, after describing the accusations as extraordinary, he assured the tribunal he could “shed no light” on the two officers’ activities in Co Donegal during the 1990s.

“I can tell you nothing about it. I cannot take them out of trouble, or put them into trouble.”

Detective Sergeant Smith was giving evidence for a second day at a public sitting of the inquiry – after previously appearing at sessions staged in-camera for security reasons.

He also talked of speaking to Ms McGlinchey for “hours and hours” in the hope of getting useful information about terrorist movements from her.

He recalled up to 30 meetings with Ms McGlinchey in car parks in Letterkenny, Co Donegal, and then going for long drives into the countryside for detailed conversations.

The tribunal heard last week that Ms McGlinchey was once found to be in possession with maps that indicated the location of a subsequent terrorist attack in Coshquin, Co Derry, which claimed the lives of six British soldiers and a civilian.

Cross-examined by Superintendent Lennon – representing himself at the proceedings after failing to secure legal costs – Detective Sergeant Smith said he did not believe Ms McGlinchey was involved in the bombing, but had been “delivering documents from a to b”.

He conceded, though, that her scale of involvement had amounted to a criminal act.

The detective sergeant said that “all-in-all,” he thought at the time that the information provided by Adrienne McGlinchey had been genuine, adding: “I still believe that.”

The tribunal is due to transfer to Donegal next month to deal with another module, relating to separate allegations against the gardai.

In all, the proceedings are expected to last well over a year.