A detective garda told the Court of Criminal Appeal yesterday he had been suspended after he refused to make a "false statement" at the behest of Chief Supt Denis Fitzpatrick while he was being interviewed by members of the Carty inquiry into alleged Garda corruption in Co Donegal.
Det Garda Noel McMahon said Supt Fitzpatrick, because of the detective's friendship with Supt Kevin Lennon, thought Det Garda McMahon knew something about the McBrearty case (related to allegations by Co Donegal publican Frank McBrearty of sustained Garda harassment of his family), but Det Garda McMahon said he was not involved in the McBrearty case. Chief Supt Fitzpatrick and Supt Lennon had a dispute about that case, he added.
Det Garda McMahon said he intended to pursue "the wrongdoing of being asked to make a false statement".
Det Garda McMahon said he was interviewed by members of the Carty inquiry on several occasions and was unhappy with their memorandums of his interviews. On one occasion, he had offered to make a statement clarifying his original statement and Chief Supt Fitzpatrick threw him a sheet of paper, told him to write and said: "I'll tell you what to write." Det McMahon said he refused and was threatened with being taken to court and charged.
He was still not prepared to make a statement. He didn't know what they wanted him to write and it would be "dangerous" to start writing.
Det Garda McMahon was continuing his evidence at the hearing of an application by Mr Frank Shortt for a certificate declaring a miscarriage of justice arising from his conviction in 1995 for knowingly allowing the sale of drugs at his nightclub, the Point Inn, Inishowen. He served a three-year jail sentence.
The conviction was overturned in November 2000 with no opposition from the DPP.
Yesterday, Det Garda McMahon denied a series of allegations made against him by his estranged wife, Mrs Sheenagh McMahon, and by Ms Adrienne McGlinchey, of Letterkenny, who, he said, had provided information to him and other gardaí in the 1990s about subversive activities.
He described as "pure fiction" claims that he told both women he had committed perjury during the trial of Mr Shortt.
He said he did not and would not perjure himself.
He also denied he told Ms McGlinchey he and other gardaí had burned down the Point Inn. He had also never told Ms McGlinchey or Ms McMahon that Mr Shortt was "set up" by gardaí.
He said he had told the Carty team he believed Ms McGlinchey was making allegations against him because his wife was attempting to expose Ms McGlinchey as a "tout".
He said Ms McGlinchey had a grievance that he had guaranteed her safety and confidentiality and understandably could not understand that he had no control over his wife.
He said a four-page handwritten document taken from his house by his wife recorded his own notes of allegations being made by his wife against him and also matters put to him by the Carty team.
He said he had not kicked or punched his wife and never put a gun to her head.
Det McMahon denied allegations by both women that he had planted bomb-making material.
He said he had never stored fertiliser in Ms McGlinchey's flat and never gave her money to buy fertiliser or steel objects.
The case continues today.
