Gardaí knew confession was false, tribunal told

The entire garda detective team probing a Donegal cattle dealer's death knew a murder confession was false, a disgraced ex-garda claimed tonight.

Former superintendent Kevin Lennon told the Morris Tribunal officers investigating Richie Barron’s death were aware a statement from Raphoe publican Frank McBrearty jnr admitting to murder was bogus.

“You all knew that this alleged statement was fraud,” Lennon said cross examining his one-time colleague, Supt Joe Shelly.

Supt Shelly, one of the county’s top officers at the time, rejected the claim and said his team had no idea the confession had been made up.

“There was never anything like that said, I never said anything like that. Nobody smelt a rat, no absolutely not,” he said.

Lennon was dismissed from the force in the wake of a damning Morris Tribunal report which found he orchestrated hoax IRA arms dumps across Donegal during the 1990s.

Mr Justice Frederick Morris, tribunal chairman, questioned why the shocking allegation had not been made at previous hearings when other officers had taken the stand.

He said he was both astonished and worried such a serious indictment had not surfaced until the module was drawing to a close.

During months of witnesses and hundreds of hours of questioning Frank McBrearty jnr has consistently attacked gardai for using a false confession to frame him for murder.

Paul McDermott SC, counsel for the inquiry, said Lennon’s staggering allegation had to be supported by some form of evidence.

The ex-officer said he would work overnight to put together a statement for the inquiry to back up his shocking claim.

Mr Justice Morris also queried why no-one on the investigation team would have spotted a false confession.

“There is a school of thought present in this tribunal that is saying the following thing, that everybody knew precisely well that it was not a good statement,” the chairman said.

Mr Justice Morris claimed the Director of Public Prosecutions was not contacted, and there was no feeling of success among officers because the murder probe team knew well the statement was bogus.

The Morris Tribunal is examining allegations of garda corruption in County Donegal during the early 1990s.

The current module, due to finish at the beginning of next year is investigating the events surrounding the apparent hit-and-run death of Richie Barron in October 1996.