Garda attacked by 800-strong mob, tribunal told

A lone garda was forced to flee a Donegal town for his own safety after a mob of up to 800 people began throwing glasses at him, it emerged today.

Former officer John O’Dowd told the Morris Tribunal that on arriving in Raphoe town centre in a patrol car on a July night in 1996, he encountered a crowd of between 700 to 800 people.

Suddenly they began throwing glasses at him and he felt he had no choice but to retreat, he told tribunal barrister Paul McDermott SC.

The revelation comes amid claims officers later targeted the McBrearty’s Raphoe nightclub for excessive liquor licensing law inspections, but gardaí said it was part of a crackdown on drink-fuelled public order problems.

“I was out doing some duty on my own in the country in the patrol car and I came back and there was a large crowd in the street,” Mr O’Dowd said.

“There was maybe 700 or 800 people and all of a sudden glasses started coming out of the air at me so I just retreated and got out of the town for my own safety.

“There was nothing I could do against 700 or 800 people.

“There was always some sort of public order [offences],” he said.

The tribunal is investigating claims the McBreartys, their extended family, business and staff were the victims of orchestrated garda harassment following the October 1996 killing of local cattle dealer Richie Barron.

Frank McBrearty Junior and his cousin Mark McConnell were wrongly suspected of the death.

It was later ruled an unsolved hit-and-run and the family cleared of any wrongdoing.

Frank McBrearty Senior also claims his club was singled out around that time by officers in the town for excessive licensing law inspections.

But the tribunal previously heard from certain gardaí that strict enforcement of the liquor laws was a crackdown on the near out of control alcohol-fuelled public order problem, and that other businesses were also inspected.

Mr O’Dowd told the tribunal there was usually some sort of disorder in the town, always drink related.

“When things get out of control, guards operate a blitz system,” he said.

“They do it for a while.

“There was a lot of public order [problems] there, there were a lot of assaults going on,” he said.