McBrearty walks out of Morris Tribunal

A Donegal publican who says he was framed by gardaí for murder today walked out of the Morris Tribunal.

Frank McBrearty Jnr refused to submit to cross examination by legal representatives for An Garda Siochana during the tribunal’s hearings in Donegal Town.

Mr Justice Morris has vowed to go to the High Court in Dublin to compel him to give evidence but the witness said he was prepared to go to jail rather than testify without full legal aid.

The tribunal has found that Mr McBrearty was among 12 people wrongly arrested for the October 1996 death of cattle dealer Richie Barron who was the victim of a hit-and-run accident.

“I am prepared to take whatever consequences there are … I am prepared to take my case to the High Court, to the Supreme Court … and, if they don’t listen to me in the Supreme Court then I am prepared to go to Europe,” he said.

“I am not prepared to be cross examined before my family is given legal aid.

“I am prepared to stay in jail for however long as it takes to get justice.”

Mr McBrearty has been giving evidence about a catalogue of alleged abuse at the hands of gardaí based in Letterkenny and Dublin including being punched, slapped around the ears, kicked and told he was going to prison for 20 years for the murder of Mr Barron.

Last month he was awarded a record €1.5m in damages and granted an apology by the Government.

Mr Justice Morris said he had no option but to apply to the High Court to ask that Mr McBrearty be returned to complete his evidence.

“It is the law that I can’t evaluate evidence unless it has been subjected to cross examination.

“If you want me to entertain your evidence then you must subject yourself to cross examination.”

Referring to Mr McBrearty’s claims that he was threatened and abused during a 12-hour grilling at Letterkenny Garda Station on December 4, 1996, Mr Justice Morris said: “You have made serious criminal allegations against a number of people and you have spoken on a number of occasions about your constitutional rights. I must tell you that they have the constitutional right to confront their accuser and challenge his version of the events if that’s what they want to do.”

He warned that a High Court battle could be costly, that if Mr McBrearty ignored a High Court order then he could be found in contempt and thrown in prison and that the authority could sequester his financial assets.

Mr McBrearty has claimed he was the subject of a campaign of abuse which culminated in his arrest on February 4 1997 in connection with an assault on Edward Moss, separate from the death of Mr Barron.

The tribunal was shown garda footage of the witness being dragged around Letterkenny police station on his back after he lay down and refused to answer questions.

Detectives continued to question him, asking him whether he broke Mr Moss’s leg. At one point, Mr McBrearty alleges, they turned him over and poured water on him, although that is not caught on video.

“I was verbally and physically abused, I was in a hysterical state, and the bottom line is you don’t have to be a genius to know that I had some sort of breakdown in the station,” he added.

“I should not have been in that station, I should have been in a psychiatric ward.”

He alleged gardaí fabricated evidence against him to make the arrest despite knowing he had a “100% alibi”.

At one stage, he said, he punched himself four times in the face to escape questioning.

The accused, aged 37, was later cleared of the charges.

The father-of-four said his entire family had been subjected to police abuse.

His father, also Frank, is due to give evidence to the tribunal.