Garda considered arresting colleague, tribunal told

A senior Garda officer in Donegal admitted he had considered arresting another member of the force who was under an “aura of suspicion”.

Superintendent John McGinley, then a detective inspector, was part of the team investigating the death of cattle dealer Richie Barron in Raphoe, Co Donegal in 1996.

He and other gardaí became suspicious of Garda John O’Dowd because an extortion phone-call had been made from his home and from one of his Garda informants, William Doherty.

Superintendent McGinley also believed that Doherty was the informer whose false information had led to a three-day search of the farm belonging to the innocent Gallagher family.

“There was a huge amount of manipulation and behind the scenes activity,” he said.

Judge Frederick Morris asked Superintendent McGinley if he had considered arresting Garda O’Dowd in the summer of 1997.

“That issue did arise,” he said. “But it was very difficult for us to move.”

In his seventh day of examination at the Morris Tribunal, Superintendent McGinley said gardaí were waiting until they had got Garda O’Dowd’s official phone records from Telecom Éireann.

“There was an aura of suspicion over the William Doherty and John O’Dowd axis. Everyone was waiting for the official confirmation from Telecom and waiting to move.”

Superintendent McGinley said he also suspected two other members of the Donegal Division, Superintendent Kevin Lennon and Sergeant John White, of manipulating the investigation.

By now, a key witness, Noel McBride had retracted statements implicating Frank McBrearty Junior and his cousin Mark McConnell in the death of Richie Barron. He blamed the informer William Doherty for putting him up to it.

“Over the next month or two, we tried to build a picture of what was going on. There were people who knew what was going on (Superintendent Lennon and Garda O’Dowd) but they didn’t come to us. We didn’t feel it was our position to go to them,” said Superintendent McGinley.

When he asked Garda O’Dowd to arrange an interview for him with Noel McBride in May 1997, William Doherty also turned up. Superintendent McGinley said he refused to conduct the interview in Doherty’s presence, even though Garda O’Dowd had vouched for him.

Judge Morris asked why he had not raised these issues with Garda O’Dowd.

“You had a witness (Noel McBride) who wouldn’t come out of his house to talk to you. He had his minder Mr Doherty always at his shoulder. And with all due respects to Mr Doherty, a most unsavoury character.”

Superintendent McGinley said it was unprecedented to have this undercurrent of suspicion within the investigation but that there were several other tasks to attend to during the summer of 1997.

He and other officers later arrested William Doherty in September 1997 for questioning. They brought him to Milford Garda Station rather than Letterkenny Garda Station to keep him away from the Garda members they suspected.

“I think we gleaned absolutely nothing in relation to the issues I have described. It threw up other issues, one of them being the finding of a notebook,” said Superintendent McGinley.

The notebook found in Doherty’s home belonged to Garda O’Dowd and allegedly’ contained the handwriting of Superintendent Kevin Lennon.

This led to a “blazing row” between Superintendent McGinley and Superintendent Lennon who refused to handle the notebook in case he put his fingerprints on it.

Superintendent McGinley told the tribunal that he had been confronted about the raid by the head of the Donegal Division, Chief Superintendent Denis Fitzpatrick, who had been on leave at the time.

“The chief was pretty angry. He had been told that guards had questioned William Doherty about the Superintendent (Lennon), that they had told him that Superintendent wouldn’t be a superintendent much longer. I think he used the word that it would be outrageous that this type of conduct would take place,” he said

Chief Superintendent Fitzpatrick called McGinley and Lennon back for a further meeting in the afternoon, where a calmer atmosphere prevailed.

He told Lennon he was directing him to finish the file and that he would then appoint someone else.