WHEN the hiearing resumed yesterday, Mr Patrick MacEntee SC, for the defence, asked the leader of Democratic Left, Mr De Rossa, if the name Audrey Mary Hamill meant anything to him. Mr De Rossa replied that it did.
He said there was a court case in 1990 where she was in court. He did not know the details. Asked if she was convicted or not, Mr De Rossa said, he could not say.
There was a press report at the time. He did not make any inquiries and he was not aware that Mr Sean Garland, a WP official, made any inquiries.
There was discussion at the ardchomhairle in relation to her. There was a report from the executive in Northern Ireland. It stated there was no connection between the WP ,and the allegations made in the case. He was satisfied with that report.
Mr De Rossa said he was aware she was charged with the possession of weapons but not of the outcome.
Mr MacEntee asked him if the name Anthony McDonagh meant anything. Mr De Rossa said it did. The name was raised in relation to a court case in the mid-1980s in Belfast. He could not remember precisely what he was charged with.
There was a report to the ardchomhairle arising out of the report that he had been charged and received a suspended sentence and that the court found that the charge had no paramilitary connections.
Asked if he knew if Mr McDonagh had any connection with the Official IRA, Mr De Rossa said he did not know - how could he know?
He did not know who might be connected with the Official IRA. Mr McDonagh was a member of the WP at the time. His membership was withdrawn for the duration of the suspended sentence and he was re-admitted.
Mr De Rossa said the names Robert Ignatius McKeown and Brian Morgan did not means anything tohiin.
The name Billy Holden did. In the mid-I980s, there was a report to the ardchomhairle in relation to a case he was involved in. His recollection was that it was in connection with stealing a taxi.
The report from the ardchomhairle in Northern Ire,land was that he had been charged with the offence. Mr De Rossa said his recollection was that the outcome was a suspended sentence. The ardchomhairle decided the man should be expelled, with membership withdrawn permanently.
Generally, if those matters were brought before the ardchomhairle, they would he, discussed at the time they hap- pened. It was an occasional event. Northern Ireland was not exactly a law-abiding society. It was inevitable that there would be circumstances where people would be caught up in breaking the law. Obviously, matters of that kind would be of concern to the ardchomhairle.
Asked if they were reconsidered in 1991, Mr De Rossa said that in that year there would have been reconsideration of a lot of things and they would probably have been reconsidered as well. They were not considered in any detail.
They were not investigated again at that stage. They had already been dealt with in years past as they arose.
Mr MacEntee asked Mr De Rossa if it ever came to his attention that there might be recruiting for the IRA going on within the WP. Mr De Rossa replied: "No."
Asked if that possibility had ever been discussed at the ardchomhairle he said it had not.
