Garda at Bailey trial denies encouraging false statements

A detective garda has denied encouraging Schull shopkeeper Marie Farrell to claim she saw Ian Bailey near the Sophie Toscan du Plantier murder scene.

Jim Fitzgerald is giving evidence at Ian Bailey's High Court action for alleged wrongful arrest on suspicion of killing the French film producer at her west Cork holiday home in December 1996.

Numerous allegations have been made against Det Garda Jim Fitzgerald in Ian Bailey's High Court action for damages, including claims he gave drugs to a former British soldier to get close to the journalist.

Schull shop keeper Marie Farrell spent days in the witness box alleging that the detective had coached her to make false statements about seeing Mr Bailey at a bridge near Sophie Toscan du Plantier's house on the morning of her killing in December 1996.

She also said on one occasions he stripped naked and asked her for sex – allegations he's expected to strenuously deny as he begins his testimony for the State.

So far he has described his first encounter with Marie Farrell in January 1997. He has denied Gardaí had any agenda at that meeting or that she was encouraged to place Mr Bailey near the murder scene.

He has also denied supplying cannabis to an ex-British soldier in 1997 to soften up Ian Bailey for information on Sophie Toscan du Plantier's murder.

He said the witness Martin Graham got tobacco and some money having volunteered to help gardaí.

Fitzgerald said on one occasion the former soldier gave him a prescription sticker from Mr Bailey's house and said it was an item that might be of use.

He told the jury he suspected the inference was that this sticker could be – inverted commas – found at the murder scene.