Alleged informer 'could have ended Garda link'

A detective today said he would not have blamed Letterkenny woman Adrienne McGlinchey if she had pulled out from her role as an alleged IRA informer if the gardaí had persisted with an arms search near her family’s home.

Detective Garda Noel McMahon told the Morris tribunal that he feared information from Ms McGlinchey would have dried up had the search operation been continued at a factory near Letterkenny, in June, 1994.

He said the move would definitely have compromised Ms McGlinchey and embarrassed her in front of her family.

“Naturally, the fall-out would have come on me – and I would not have blamed her for pulling the plug completely and withdrawing.”

The find of a number of hold-all bags of ground fertiliser was seen at the time by gardai as possible component parts of a terrorist bomb.

Giving evidence to the garda corruption claims probe for an 19th day, he also conceded that he might not always have told the truth to Ms McGlinchey.

He said to Paul Murray, counsel for Ms McGlinchey, that he could not remember any untruths, but added: “It is possible that if she asked me anything tricky I might give a wrong answer – deliberately.

Garda McMahon and detective colleague Superintendent Kevin Lennon have both denied that, together with Ms McGlinchey, they prepared explosives for use in bogus garda arms finds.

Ms McGlinchey has insisted she was never either an informer or a member of the IRA.