Morris Tribunal: A detective told the Morris tribunal yesterday how he sought to cultivate a Donegal woman as an informer because she had a relationship with a senior IRA figure in the Border county and picked up information from "pillow talk".
Det Garda Noel McMahon said he and Det Danny Kelly arranged to meet Ms Adrienne McGlinchey shortly after she moved to Buncrana in 1991. He said he arranged the meeting because he wanted to find out about a "romantic relationship" between Ms McGlinchey and a prominent IRA member who was living outside Letterkenny.
Det McMahon said Ms McGlinchey was able to relay information to gardaí because of her relationship with this man, described by the detective as "very active and dangerous".
"I believe she was being used on occasions and that the romantic relationship put her in a position to overhear certain things," he said.
"As time went on, she told me that herself and this person used to sit in a van and do surveillance. And if a car lights or a person came along, they would act out the romantic relationship, and go in a clinch, so to speak. Other stuff she picked up from pillow talk.
"This placed her firmly in a position where I believe that she was in a position to have access to information."
He said the relationship broke up before she left Letterkenny for Buncrana, but "she still maintained that she was asked to do things for two other people".
The tribunal is investigating allegations by Ms McGlinchey that two Donegal gardaí, Supt Kevin Lennon and Det McMahon, arranged bogus explosives finds in Donegal during the early 1990s. Both gardaí have denied the allegations, and Ms McGlinchey denies she was ever an informer.
At a later meeting Ms McGlinchey gave detectives McMahon and Kelly a bag of bullets. The detectives did not prosecute because "a summary prosecution and a small fine in the district court" would defeat the chance of cultivating her as an informant.
He denied holding the threat of prosecution for possession of bullets over Ms McGlinchey. "There was no pressure put on her. I built up a fairly good relationship with Ms McGlinchey. We got on well," he said.
Det McMahon said Ms McGlinchey gave a description of an arms dump which matched a find at Five Fingers strand, which increased her credibility. She took him looking for arms dumps several times, but "she seemed to panic" and nothing was found.
"Was a gun ever found as a result of information given by Adrienne McGlinchey?" asked tribunal lawyer Mr Paul McDermott SC.
"No," replied the detective. "The thought of obtaining an arms dump, I would have liked to do that. That would certainly have taken weapons of destruction and murder out of circulation."
The detective also spoke about Ms McGlinchey's "distraction activities".
"I saw her tie up the D branch and uniform cars in Buncrana ... Tying up the three patrol cars, it left us fairly open."
On April 30th, 1992, seven bullets were found by gardaí in an area where Ms McGlinchey and her flatmate, Ms Yvonne Devine, were seen.
However, no arrest was made and no charges were brought.
Mr McDermott put it to Det McMahon that Ms McGlinchey said he had given her these bullets. "I would say that is a completely false allegation," he said.
Asked about finned metal cylinders, Det McMahon said Ms McGlinchey rang him up and said they were prototypes for something new the IRA were working on. He brought the tubes to Supt Lennon in Letterkenny.
"I told him at that time that there was a timeframe. McGlinchey had to have them back in two hours. She maintained she would be in trouble. Certainly interrogated."
However, they were not returned to Ms McGlinchey. One was retained by Supt Fitzpatrick, and he kept the other in his shed.
Asked why he put his informer at risk in this way, Det McMahon replied: "It was a decision between innocent people and an IRA courier."
Ms McGlinchey was angry, but "a few days later I met her and she had calmed down. Obviously she had got away with it."
Det McMahon said he could have brought the second prototype to Buncrana Garda station, but, if he had, it would have gone into the property book, which would have raised questions.
Mr Justice Morris asked why he didn't give both items to Supt Fitzpatrick. "I could have but I didn't, I just put it in the shed," he said.
Asked if the objects were part of an elaborate charade, he replied: "I did not have anything made. I did not give any instructions. I did not provide any money."