Doctor denies hearing complaints of abuse

A doctor called to a garda station to take a blood sample from a murder suspect could not recall him making any complaints, the Morris Tribunal heard today.

Dr Brian McColgan said he was contacted to take a sample from Mark McConnell, who alleges he was assaulted and intimidated by gardaí, at Letterkenny Garda Station on December 4, 1996.

Tribunal counsel, Peter Charleton, queried: “Was there any mention to you of any alleged injury or any complaint by Mr McConnell?”

“I don’t remember any,” Dr McColgan replied.

However, the tribunal heard he had asked Mr McConnell if he had an injury before he took the blood sample.

“I don’t know why I would have asked him, I’m not sure in what context that was, I had asked him if he had any injuries and he said no. But I don’t remember why I did ask him that,” Dr McColgan said.

“Maybe if I had heard a suggestion this had happened but I honestly can’t remember.”

He added: “If he had said he had an injury then I would have gone in to examine him and probably referred him to hospital if treatment required but he said no so I just left it then.”

Mr McConnell claims he was assaulted and intimidated by gardaí during his interrogation. Officers arrested him believing Mr McConnell and his cousin Frank McBrearty Jnr had killed Raphoe cattle dealer Richie Barron. But it was later ruled Mr Barron was the victim of a hit-and-run rather than an attack.

During his arrest in December 1996, Mr Connell claims he was intimidated, physically assaulted, abused and shown graphic autopsy photographs.

Counsel for Det. Sgt James Leheny said Mr McConnell’s statement of claim from a High Court case alleges he suffered bruising and asked if it had been pointed out to the doctor.

“Not that I recollect,” Dr McColgan said.

McConnell interjected: “The most severe abuse that I received was in the evening from five o’clock, that is the time I was kicked in the shins and stuff like that. If there was marks on my legs, that is when it happened, so if she is trying to create some kind of picture here that there was bruises all over me earlier in the day there wasn’t.”

He added: “It is a totally different time of the day.”

The tribunal has heard several interview notes from Mr McConnell’s interrogation by gardaí have disappeared.

Det. Sgt Leheny, who retired in 2001, said he left the interview notes into the incident room after the interrogation was finished.

“If there is blame to be apportioned I will totally accept it that it was negligent on my part I don’t want any of the staff in the incident room to be apportioned with any blame and Mr chairman if you have any criticism to writing a report in relation to this I will totally accept it, without question,” Mr Leheny said.

Tribunal chairman Justice Frederick Morris asked: “Well what criticism do you suggest?”

“That I was negligent in not seeing that the notes were properly handed over and accountability for the notes,” Mr Leheny said.

“I shouldn’t have left them unattended on Tina Fowley’s desk, she wasn’t in the office, I didn’t know where she was.”

The tribunal will resume sitting at 11am on Monday in the courthouse in Donegal town to hear evidence from Frank McBrearty Jnr.