Morris Tribunal: A Donegal detective, questioned about how senior officers were informed about his handling of his alleged informer, has denied making up conversations to cover for the lack of information passed on to senior officers.
Mr Pat Marrinan, counsel for the Garda Commissioner, said Supt John P. O'Connor would deny a "confidential" document found in Det Garda McMahon's locker ever went through his hands or was ever shown to him.
"All I can say is when I went to the trouble of making that document, it went through," Det Garda McMahon said. No other copy of the document was found in the system "after a trawl of Donegal". Mr Marrinan said Det Garda McMahon had said he "kept it short". This was why he had not told Carty (the Garda inquiry ) or tribunal investigators that he had discussions with Supt O'Connor about Ms McGlinchey.
He also said he kept Border Supt Denis Fitzpatrick informed. "Whilst in the witness box you've made up a whole series of accusations of conversations with your Border superintendent and Supt O'Connor to try and cover for the lack of information that was actually given to management and senior management in Donegal," Mr Marrinan said.
"No sir, I did not act in that way at all, I always informed my authorities," said Det Garda McMahon. Det Garda McMahon, along with Supt Kevin Lennon, is alleged to have prepared explosives for use in bogus garda arms finds. Both men deny these allegations. Chief Supt Fitzpatrick has said in his evidence that he had no conversations with Det Garda McMahon concerning the alleged informer, Ms McGlinchey, before he wrote a report on her handling in May 1993, Mr Marrinan said.
As a result of this report, Supt (then Insp) Lennon was appointed to supervise Det Garda McMahon's handling of the alleged informer. Det Garda McMahon also said he pointed his revolver at a fellow garda "out of the blue" and it was "a bit of crack". However, he denied this occurred as a result of a row over who should get credit for the finding of a metal object associated with Ms McGlinchey. Det McMahon said Supt Lennon, who reprimanded him over the incident but did not report it, was a uniformed inspector at the time.