Garda did not know why Carthy was held

THE garda who authorised John Carthy’s detention for questioning over an arson incident did so without knowing in any detail what the grounds for detaining him were.

Garda Frank Bohan, the member in charge of Granard Garda Station the night Mr Carthy was arrested, agreed at the Barr Tribunal that the information he had relating to allegations about Mr Carthy was “second or third-hand” and incorrect.

But he said he accepted the information in good faith because he knew the person named as the sourceand considered him reliable.

Gda Bohan was answering questions about the arrest and detention of Mr Carthy following the burning of a fibreglass goat on display in Abbeylara as a mascot for the local GAA club in September 1998.

The tribunal heard earlier this week that a local publican, William Crawford, told Garda David Martin that two local men saw Mr Carthy setting fire to the goat and that Garda Martin passed this information on to Sergeant Turlough Bruen because, as a neighbour of Mr Carthy, he did not want to investigate the matter himself.

It transpired during a break in questioning Mr Carthy that the two men had not seen him do anything but claimed only to have heard him say he would burn the goat.

Gda Bohan said he was told only that Mr Crawford had said Mr Carthy set fire to the goat and he was not aware that problems arose about this version of events during questioning.

Tribunal chairman Mr Justice Barr asked Gda Bohan what the basis for Mr Crawford’s allegations were and Garda Bohan replied that Sgt Bruen did not tell him.

“Should you not be aware of the nature of the investigation that was going on?” Mr Justice Barr asked. “Possibly. I did not ask,” Gda Bohan replied. “You really did not know anything, did you?” said Mr Justice Barr.

Mr Justice Barr also took issue with the custody record which made no mention of Mr Carthy having been searched but noted he had his belt and shoelaces removed when he was placed briefly in a cell during the break in questioning.

He asked if the removal of the belt and shoelaces was designed to humiliate Mr Carthy, a suggestion Gda Bohan denied. He said it was standard procedure and insisted he had searched Mr Carthy when he was being put in the cell but accepted he should have done so when he was first detained.

Garda Bohan denied witnessing any ill-treatment or abuse of Mr Carthy during his time in questioningThe tribunal has heard Mr Carthy complained of being assaulted during his questioning by Sgt Bruen and Garda Frank McHugh, andhad X-rays taken after his detention.