Crime & Law

Ian Bailey’s solicitor criticises ‘feral attack’ on his client by Micheál Martin

Tánaiste said on Thursday night it was hard to understand why evidence against Bailey was not put before a jury

Ian Bailey collapsed and died in Bantry, Co Cork last January. Photograph: Tom Honan/The Irish Times
Ian Bailey collapsed and died in Bantry, Co Cork last January. Photograph: Tom Honan/The Irish Times
Olivia Kelleher
Fri Sept 13 2024 - 20:38

A solicitor who represented the late Ian Bailey for over 20 years has described as “extraordinary” and “astonishing” a decision by the Tánaiste Micheál Martin to say that his client should have been tried for the murder of French woman Sophie Toscan Du Plantier.

Mr Martin made his comments at the launch of the Senan Molony book, Sophie, The Final Verdict yesterday.

The Fianna Fáil leader was critical of the decision by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) not to prosecute Bailey who died earlier this year at the age of 66. He said that that there were significant questions that remained unanswered in relation to the death of Ms Du Plantier at her remote holiday home in Toormore on the outskirts of Schull in west Cork on December 23rd, 1996.

At the book launch Mr Martin said the murder of Ms Toscan du Plantier was “deeply shocking” and “the failure to deliver justice, to hold her murderer to account is and should always be a deep shame for us”.

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Mr Martin also said: “No one expects that any system of justice can operate without errors – or that the pursuit of justice can never lead to another injustice ... However, when you look at the details of this case and the scale of the evidence, it is very, very hard to understand why this evidence was not put before a jury.”

He also said: “The fact that we have absolute independence in our judicial system, that no external pressure can be applied on independent prosecutors and judges is a great strength which we should value.

“And at the same time we can admit that this system failed Sophie Toscan du Plantier.”

In an interview with the Opinion Line on Cork’s 96FM today Frank Buttimer, solicitor for Bailey, said he couldn’t understand why the Tánaiste decided to weigh in on the case at this juncture. He described his comments as a “feral attack” on “many of the pillars of the justice of the State”.

“I was just saying to someone else there a while ago that it’s almost as if he [Martin] woke up after 28 years of not knowing that something has happened, reads a book, which is pompously titled, quote-unquote, ‘The Final Verdict’ and says, ‘my God, this is dreadful. Why didn’t we do something about this?’”

Mr Buttimer said that the Tánaiste seemed to fully take on board the contents of the book by Mr Molony which he claims contains nothing new in the way of hard evidence.

“What’s astonishing is he [Martin] seems to be basing his opinion on the content of a book where stuff is in there that would not be evidential. And he goes on to disparage the office of the DPP for declining to prosecute Ian Bailey, the Supreme Court, which he seems to suggest was used in an effort to prevent Bailey’s removal, and the other two high courts which refused to extradite Bailey.

“So it’s a feral attack on many of the pillars of justice of the state. Where it comes from, I have absolutely no idea. I would not have any adverse comment to make about Micheál Martin as a politician generally, but I’m surprised at this. I’m just wondering what this rant is all about.”

Mr Buttimer said that he has no intention of reading the book by Mr Molony as he is certain it won’t contain any new evidence in relation to the Du Plantier case.

Bailey collapsed and died in Bantry, Co Cork last January. He was detained by gardaí for questioning in relation to the murder of the 39-year-old French national on two occasions but was never charged with her murder.